US embassy cable - 05DJIBOUTI360

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DJIBOUTI 000360 
 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/10/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, SCUL, PHUM, DJ, PDEM 
SUBJECT: ELECTION DAY IN DJIBOUTI: CALM, WITH SOME PROTESTS 
 
Classified By: Pol/Econ Erinn C. Reed for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary: With the help of PD, Consular and GSO 
Officers, the Pol/Econ section visited 11 polling stations 
throughout Djibouti City to gauge the mood on election day. 
Embassy Officers (EMBOFFs) divided into three teams, taking 
responsibility for different areas of the city. Consensus 
showed that polling sites were relatively calm. Only one 
major protest took place during the day. International news 
services reported use of force by police, including tear gas, 
in one late afternoon protest. EMBOFFs observed only a few 
persons being turned away from the polls, mostly for lack of 
proper identification. Many of the polling stations observed 
were not strictly controlled and were disorganized in their 
directions to voters. There appeared to be a general lack of 
instruction to and information for voters. Election results 
were announced Saturday, April 9th. According to the Ministry 
of Interior, 78.9 percent of registered voters turned out and 
President Ismael Omar Guelleh, the sole candidate, received 
100 percent of votes cast. Ministry of Interior noted 
approximately 5 percent of votes cast were null and void due 
to damaged ballots. End Summary. 
 
MOOD IN THE CITY 
---------------- 
2. (C) As is usual for Djibouti City on a Friday, the streets 
were empty. Few people were milling around and fewer shops 
were open. Closer to polling stations there was more activity 
in the streets with a steady trickle of voters heading to the 
polls. During the hours EMBOFFs were out and about in the 
morning, there were two gatherings in the streets. All 
protests observed were calm and orderly. The largest protest 
observed was in front of the opposition headquarters, which 
is in one of the poor neighborhoods of the city. This protest 
was reported as being between 200 and 500 people. EMBOFFs 
estimated by visual count that it was closer to 200-300 
persons. News services reported that when police arrived to 
disperse the demonstration several protesters began throwing 
rocks and forced the police to fire tear gas into the crowd. 
Several other protests occurred in neighborhoods which 
habitually side with the opposition. EMBOFFs did not visit 
any polling stations outside the capital city and are not 
able to comment on the mood of the electorate in other areas. 
 
POLLING STATIONS 
---------------- 
3. (C) EMBOFFs visited 11 polling stations throughout the 
city the morning of election day. Polling stations selected 
were in both affluent areas and poor neighborhoods in very 
populous areas. Most polling stations were located in 
neighborhood schools with several bureaus per school. 
Registered voters were assigned to a specific polling station 
and within that station to a specific bureau by alphabetical 
segments. Each polling bureau had approximately 600-700 
voters assigned to it. At the time of EMBOFFs' visits, 
approximately 10 to 20 percent of each bureau's list had 
voted. In all of the polling stations, security was provided 
by a number of uniformed police. At many stations the only 
police presence was at the gate to the school, where 
uniformed officers screened for identification and voter 
cards. However, two polling stations visited had much greater 
police presence. In the neighborhood of Arhiba, an area with 
strong Afar and opposition numbers, the school used for 
polling stations had two busses full of police in riot gear 
positioned directly outside the entrance. At Ecole de la Zone 
Portuaire Sud, the polling station for the affluent and 
typically diplomatic neighborhood, there were uniformed 
police stationed not only at the entrance to the school but 
two at each doorway to polling bureaus. 
 
4. (C) In most polling stations visited, there were persons 
"stumping" for the candidate and wearing pro-Guelleh 
paraphernalia inside the voting compound. Several voting 
bureau officials were even dressed in the green Guelleh 
campaign shirts and hats. One team of Embassy Officers ran 
into the Minister of Agriculture inside the Ecole d'Arhiba 
polling station actively campaigning for Guelleh. Also 
observed at Ecole d'Arhiba was a line of Guelleh supporters 
dressed in campaign T-shirts, forming a virtual wall of green 
that voters had to push through inside the school compound to 
get to the voting bureaus. 
 
5. (C) The voting procedure was very simple, but still posed 
problems for some individuals. Upon entering a voting office, 
voters showed their national identity card and electoral card 
to a bureau official who would check the register and have 
voters sign or fingerprint next to their name. Voters could 
also pick up their electoral card at the voting office if 
they had not already, or they could show their "ordonnance" 
from the Ministry of the Interior, which allowed them to vote 
if they had not met the registration deadline. After 
identification and voter eligibility was established, voting 
officials handed the individual a small manila envelope and a 
green ballot (Note: Green is Guelleh's color chosen for this 
year's ballot. If there were other candidates, the system has 
been to have different colored ballots for each candidate. 
The voter would simply put the color of his choice in the 
envelope and discard the rest. In the 1993 election, there 
was apparently only one candidate and there was a ballot for 
the candidate and a white candidate for abstention votes. 
There were no blank ballots this election. End Note.). The 
voter then went into a small booth with plywood covering the 
top half of the sides and a black curtain covering 
three-quarters of the length in front. There was a shelf 
inside the booth, but nothing else. The voter then folded the 
ballot to put inside the envelope and took it outside to the 
clear ballot box to place it inside. Once the ballot was 
cast, voting officials marked the electoral card and placed 
the voter's finger in indelible purple ink. Some of the 
voting booths were poorly constructed and leaned to a 
considerable degree, leaving a clear view through the sides 
of the curtain. In one office visited, voting was closed for 
a period to allow reconstruction of the booth after it fell 
down completely. Another voting booth's legs were being 
propped up by rocks to keep it from falling. 
 
6. (C) There were several problems observed by EMBOFFs during 
their visits to polling stations. None of the envelopes had 
seals, so once voters cast their ballots into the clear 
ballot box the open flap would reveal the green ballot 
inside. Additionally, voters were supposed to have three 
options: Casting a whole, green ballot for Guelleh; tearing 
the ballot in half or to pieces (thus nullifying the vote) 
and placing it in the envelope before casting it; or simply 
throwing the ballot away and putting an empty envelope in the 
box. However there were no trash cans in the voting booths 
and one could not hide the ballot in his or her hand because 
of the need to fingerprint with indelible ink. It would have 
been impossible for a person to throw away the green Guelleh 
ballot without everyone in the office knowing. Furthermore, 
if a person put an empty, unsealed envelope into the clear 
box, everyone would be able to see that person voted against 
Guelleh. Poloff asked one voting office president if 
officials explained to each voter the options for casting a 
vote. He responded they only explained to those that didn't 
already know. There were many people that EMBOFF observed 
that were confused about the process for casting ballots. One 
elderly man was observed going first into one side of the 
voting booth, then the other and finally coming out to hand 
his ballot directly to the office president saying "I didn't 
see anyone to give it to, so you have to take it." Another 
person was observed wandering about outside the voting office 
with their ballot not knowing where to go or what to do. Many 
Embassy FSNs commented that some registered voters were 
completely uninformed as to where they were supposed to go to 
vote. At one station, a man was observed going from one 
office to the next asking the officials "check your list, am 
I on it?" 
 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
7. (C) Comment: While EMBOFFs were only out during the 
morning, news reports indicate the situation continued to be 
about the same all day. Bureau hours were extended by one 
hour, allowing stations to close at 7pm rather than 6pm. Each 
team of Embassy officers reported that there were no real 
problems with them visiting polling stations. One team 
encountered a fairly high-level Djiboutian official, who 
commented "why should we let you visit the offices after the 
U.S. had decided the elections were not worth having 
observers come to?" EmbOff reported this comment perhaps was 
made in jest, because this official did not cause any trouble 
for them after making his opinion heard. Unsubstantiated 
rumors in town indicate that some voting offices were not 
very strict on verifying identity. Agence France Press 
reported allegations of vote-buying in the town of Arta, 
where residents were reportedly told anyone casting a ballot 
would receive 4 pounds of rice and a can of oil. Post has not 
heard anything to corroborate this story. 
 
8. (C) Comment cont. Government news sources indicated 
turnout was 78.9 percent of registered voters. Opposition 
numbers claim 48 percent of registered voters came to the 
polls. Using the numbers cited by the government, if 198,800 
people were registered to vote, approximately 156,853 
actually voted. La Nation, the Government-run newspaper, 
reported April 11th that roughly 5 percent of the votes cast 
were nullified. If government estimates on nullified ballots 
are correct, then approximately 9,940 votes were null. It is 
impossible to determine, due to the differing opinions 
offered by voting officials, whether this 5 percent of the 
electorate chose not to vote for Guelleh or merely did not 
understand what to do. Rumors also indicated the co-director 
of the opposition journal Realite was injured when jumping 
out a second-story window when fleeing from the police 
breaking up the protest. 
 
9. (C) The week prior to elections, ConOff was told by an 
Embassy Djibouti LES that she had been denied the right to 
register to vote for this election. According to the LES, 
registration officials told her she was ineligible to 
register because she had spent extensive time in the U.S in 
the past. She told ConOff that many who had ties to Western 
countries were being denied voting and registration 
privileges, including all dual citizens. The voter 
registration official also reportedly told the LES that votes 
at Djiboutian embassies abroad would be disregarded. This LES 
also reported that she had been unofficially warned to not 
speak of her disenfranchisement. She was told there were 
"government informers everywhere" and she could get "in 
trouble" if she talked about it. Post has not heard other 
stories of such denials and cannot verify the allegations. 
However, the LES is a credible and trusted Embassy employee, 
whose word is respected by both her American and Djiboutian 
co-workers. Post notes there are no restrictions in the 
electoral law placed on dual nationals or citizens who have 
been outside Djibouti for long periods of time. La Nation 
reported that 2500 registered overseas voters cast ballots in 
Djiboutian Embassies abroad. Post has not been able to 
confirm whether these votes were counted or not. 
 
9. (C) Comment cont. Post's major concern after watching the 
election first-hand is the lack of information and options 
given to voters. The fact that there was no blank ballot, or 
any real confidential way to vote is the most troubling 
observation of the day. Post would be more comfortable with 
the voting procedures had there been an option to place a 
"protest vote" that were clearly explained to voters at the 
poll. Post is also concerned that turnout of registered 
voters (approximately 157,000 voted out of 199,000 
registered) translates into only roughly 40 percent of the 
country's total population (using the estimated population of 
650,000), which does not give Guelleh a majority of the 
country's support. End Comment. 
RAGSDALE