US embassy cable - 04ACCRA1934

C O N F I D E N T I A L  ACCRA 001934 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, GH 
SUBJECT: GHANA'S ELECTION:  THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC 
CONGRESS PERSPECTIVE 
 
REF: ACCRA 6401 
 
Classified By: PolChief Scott Ticknor for reasons 1.5 b and d. 
 
1.  (C)  Summary: On September 22, Charge and Poloffs hosted 
a lunch for National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential 
candidate Atta Mills and several senior party lieutenants to 
discuss the upcoming election.  Mills was predictably 
critical of the ruling National Patriotic Party (NPP)'s 
performance, stating that Ghanaians had not improved their 
economic status under President Kufuor.  Mills criticized the 
voter registration process and said the Electoral Commission 
was indifferent to NDC complaints. He expects a peaceful 
election, noting police cooperation and denying NPP 
allegations that the NDC is working with foreign mercenaries 
to disrupt the polling.  He hoped the USG would help 
strengthen Electoral Commission efforts.  When asked about 
the National Reconciliation Commission, he said that, if 
elected, he would review the NRC report and might implement 
recommendations which are based on findings he views as 
accurate.  However, if the report is biased (as he 
anticipates), Mills would constitute a new commission to 
conduct a fresh investigation.  End summary. 
 
2.  (C)  Charge and Poloffs hosted a lunch on September 22, 
2004 for Professor John Evans Atta Mills, former Vice 
President and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) 
presidential candidate in Ghana's upcoming election, along 
with several other senior party officials, to discuss 
election developments. Charge explained that we were meeting 
with all of Ghana's political parties, as well as the 
Electoral Commission and civil society members, to express 
our support for a free and fair election and explore what 
role in the process the USG might usefully play. 
 
"We Tell the Truth" 
------------------- 
 
3.  (C)  Mills believed Ghanaians would vote NDC because "we 
tell the truth."  The truth, he said, was that most people in 
Ghana did not feel their welfare had improved under the 
current NPP government.  On the campaign trail, he was 
hearing frequent complaints about high priced utilities and 
school fees, despite earlier NPP promises to bring down these 
costs.  The NPP was untruthful about its achievements in 
health care, education, agricultural projects and other 
areas, Mills said.  He criticized the NPP as highly corrupt, 
allegedly using funds gotten through the Heavily Indebted 
Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative as a slush fund without 
accountability to Parliament.  The NPP was milking candidates 
and businessmen for money and nurturing nepotism at top 
levels of government, he claimed. 
 
4.  (C)  By contrast, if elected, Mills said he would stand 
for "truth, sincerity and modesty".  There would be 
significant continuity in foreign policy, with strong support 
for ECOWAS, the UN, EU and United States.  He would make a 
greater effort to resolve the crisis in the Ivory Coast, 
given efforts by the former NDC government to help in Liberia 
and Sierra Leone.  While the situation in the Ivory Coast was 
not a factor in this election, it has the potential to 
increase the presence of illegal arms in Ghana, which could 
be used in fueling disputes between traditional chiefs, Mills 
noted. 
 
5.  (C)  Poloff asked Mills what an NDC victory would mean 
for the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC), which has 
completed its hearings (but not yet issued a final report) on 
alleged human rights abuses that took place between 1957 and 
1993 (Note: a majority of the alleged abuses occurred under 
the PNDC's rule.  End note.)  Mills said he would study the 
NRC report and implement the portions that appeared 
"logical".  While not condemning the NR process, he said he 
would not accept thereport wholesale.  If the report is 
biased, he would set up a new, bipartisan commission to give 
the process a fresh start. 
 
Concerns about Fairness 
----------------------- 
 
6.  (C)  Mills and other NDC officials revisited 
long-standing suspicions about the fairness and effectiveness 
of the voter registration process organized by the Electoral 
Commission (EC).  The Electoral Commission allowed more time 
for registration in the Ashanti region, stronghold of the 
ruling NPP, than in traditional NDC areas, they claimed. 
Many voters from the northern regions working in the south 
were unable to travel to register.  The NDC reps alleged that 
a three-day strike by some EC workers demanding better pay 
undermined the NDC in certain regions.  In their travels in 
Wa and Bolgatanga, NDC reps witnessed shortages of election 
registration materials.  Thousands in Accra were unable to 
reach remote registration areas.  The NDC is concerned that, 
on election day, some EC officials may arrive late or abandon 
 
 
their positions in NDC-dominated regions. 
 
7.  (C)  The NDC reps said they have raised these concerns 
repeatedly with the EC, so far with little corrective action. 
 While Mills thought the EC was not ill-intentioned, he saw 
them as "indifferent" and hampered by insufficient resources. 
 The EC reportedly refused to reopen the registration 
process, as requested by the NDC.  Mills acknowledged that 
the EC had committed to a "mopping up" exercise to register 
voters previously unable to provide the photos needed to 
complete the process.  However, Mills said he could not judge 
the success of this effort until the EC publishes its final 
registration roster. 
 
Expects Peaceful Election 
------------------------- 
 
8.  (C)  Mills expects a peaceful election.  He will insist 
to his party that it conduct itself in a peaceful manner, he 
emphasized, adding that he would nonetheless remain on guard 
against rigging.  The police were "generally very 
cooperative", although he thought some new recruits were 
biased toward the NPP.  He emphatically rejected allegations 
made by some in the NPP that the NDC is recruiting foreign 
mercenaries to disrupt the eletions.  The NDC had no need of 
mercenaries, he sid, noting that the paty gave up power 
voluntarly after losing the 2000 election. 
 
What Can the USG Do? 
-------------------- 
 
9.  (C)  Charge asked what role the USG might constructively 
play in this election process.  Mills said the USG could 
encourage the Electoral Commission in its mandate to ensure a 
free and fair election.  He hoped we would share concerns 
about the need for adequate election material in all regions. 
 Working through the EC, donors might also help fund the 
participation of party poll watchers from the smaller parties 
unable to afford national coverage.  Charge said we would 
engage the EC in a similar discussion of the 2004 elections. 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
10.  (C)  Mills' complaints about the registration process 
were similar to concerns expressed in a June meeting with 
Ambassador Yates (reftel).  The registration process has had 
some hiccups and other observers have been critical of the 
Electoral Commission for its perceived lack of diligence.  We 
will be meeting with the EC and others to better assess the 
status of the registration process, which reportedly has been 
extended until September 30.  Mills' commitment to a peaceful 
election went a step further than during his June meeting. 
He was less compelling when Charge asked why he thought 
Ghanaians should vote for the NDC.  He offered few specifics 
on substantive policy differences with the NPP.  He clearly 
sees the current makeup of the National Reconciliation 
Commission as biased against the NDC and hypocritical 
(President Kufuor was part of the PNDC regime, Mills 
underscored, alleging that some of the perpetrators being 
investigated are members of the current NPP government).  It 
is not clear what the NDC would do with the NRC process if it 
surprisingly wins the upcoming election. 
 
LANIER 
 
 
NNNN