US embassy cable - 04MAPUTO1406

UNCLAS MAPUTO 001406 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
STATE FOR AF/S AND AF/FO 
MCC FOR BRIGGS AND GAULL 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, MZ, Elections 04 
SUBJECT: ELECTION OBSERVER ACCESS STILL UNRESOLVED 
 
REF: MAPUTO 1371 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified - handle accordingly. Not for 
internet distribution. 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: The EU and the National Elections 
Commission continue to disagree over the access of observers 
to provincial and national vote tabulations. The head of the 
EU's observer mission told a press conference that without 
access to the tabulations, the EU would not be able to give 
credibility to the electoral process. There are reports of 
some progress at technical levels, but we do not expect a 
resolution in the next week. The EU may wind up with some 
but not all of the access it is seeking. End Summary. 
? 
2. (U) Tension continues between the European Union (EU) and 
the FRELIMO-controlled National Elections Commission (CNE) 
over election observation guidelines. The main sticking 
point remains observer access to the provincial and national 
vote tabulations; presence at the initial tabulation at the 
polling places has been agreed. Visiting EU election 
observer mission chief Jose Javier Pomes took an optimistic 
stance during an October 18 press conference, claiming 
confidence that a resolution would be forthcoming and stating 
that the EU and CNE were working out a way to secure the EU's 
presence at the provincial and national tabulation stages. 
Pomes asserted that the EU's acceptance of the GRM's 
invitation to observe this year's elections was based upon 
access to all stages of the electoral process. Reiterating 
an October 15 EU statement, Pomes said that without this 
access, the EU would not be able to confer credibility to the 
electoral process. In an earlier statement, the 
Johannesburg-based Electoral Institute of Southern Africa 
(EISA), which has developed principles for election 
organization and observation in the SADC region, was also 
critical of the CNE's position, warning that failure to allow 
observers access to all stages of the election process would 
reflect poorly on the credibility of the elections. 
 
3. (SBU) There are a few encouraging signs. The EU and the 
CNE continue to talk. In those discussions, though not in 
public, the CNE appears to have stopped claiming that 
allowing observers would violate Mozambican law. The CNE now 
says observers and journalists will be able to view the final 
tabulation stage from outside the data processing room 
through a window. We also understand that the CNE plans to 
allow observers and journalists to view a computer monitor 
showing data entry; this was done in 1999 and did not satisfy 
RENAMO. 
 
4. (SBU) However, EU country diplomats fear that the CNE - 
controlled by its FRELIMO party majority - may not allow 
complete transparency. The Dutch ambassador and the UK high 
commissioner told the Ambassador October 20 that, although 
there were openings in negotiations with the CNE, the issue 
was far from being resolved. The UK high commissioner feared 
that this dispute would be followed by others. The Dutch 
ambassador did not expect the EU to sign a memorandum of 
understanding with the CNE but said that it would send its 
observation team, some of whom have already arrived to view 
the campaign, to the field regardless. The EU will rely on a 
separate MOU with the foreign ministry that gives accredited 
individuals observer status. 
 
5. (SBU) At an October 21 donor meeting, EU Deputy Chief 
Observer Aida Maria Aragao said the CNE had stepped back from 
its categorical denial of observer access to the provincial 
and national tabulation stages, but she discounted a recent 
press report that the CNE had reversed its decision entirely. 
The Carter Center reported at the same event that it has not 
reached agreement on the MOU it has been negotiating at the 
provincial level, which would include observer access to vote 
tabulation. The Center, which has been silent on the issue, 
expects to make a formal statement in the next few days. 
 
6. (SBU) Comment: While the two sides are still searching for 
a way to resolve the issue, we do not expect an agreement in 
the next week or so. President Chissano has stepped back 
from his initial public statement last week that he had 
instructed the CNE to resolve the issue; he has since 
emphasized to the press instead the need for the EU to 
respect Mozambican laws. We believe the two sides may 
eventually agree on some form of partial access that is less 
than what the EU is currently seeking. End Comment. 
LA LIME