US embassy cable - 05PORTAUPRINCE1072

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT AU PRINCE 001072 
 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS 
NSC FOR SHANNON 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/15/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, EAID, HA, Elections 
SUBJECT: HAITI ELECTIONS: ELECTION NEWS ROUND-UP (APRIL 16, 
2005) 
 
REF: PORT-AU-PRINCE 1005 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Douglas M. Griffiths.  Reasons 1 
.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (U) 
I.    ELECTION SECURITY (Para. 2) 
II.   PARTY ALLIANCES: CONSTANTLY SHIFTING (Paras. 3-5) 
III.  PARTY CONVENTIONS FILL MONTH OF APRIL (Paras. 6-11) 
IV.   MORE POSSIBLE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES (Paras. 12-13) 
V.    CEP COMMISSIONS (Paras. 14-15) 
 
 
I. ELECTION SECURITY 
-------------------- 
 
2.  (SBU) MINUSTAH-CivPol has been tasked with organizing 
security for the Haitian elections and is in the process of 
conducting risk/security assessments for up to 470 possible 
voter registration sites (current OAS plans call for 424 
sites, as mentioned above).  CivPol Commissioner Dave Beer 
has directed that the elections are the number one priority 
for his Civ-Pol personnel.  The CivPol elections security 
team of nine personnel includes two U.S. officers who met 
with poloffs April 14 to outline their mission.  They have 
completed about 25 percent of the potential voter 
registration centers/sites security assessments.  None of the 
sites thus far assessed meet even minimum security standards. 
 They provided information on the methodology to be used to 
recruit the 3600 election security assistants (ESAs) who will 
be drawn primarily from the current list of potential HNP 
recruits (not ex-FAdH) throughout the country.  The ESAs will 
be the first line security defense in the majority of voter 
registration centers, providing unarmed, static security to 
the facilities and equipment. (These are designated 'green" 
in the CivPol scale.)  Amber-designated centers will likely 
require full-time HNP presence in addition to the ESAs. 
Voter registration sites in the most insecure areas ("red") 
will have a MINUSTAH military presence. 
 
II. PARTY ALLIANCES:  CONSTANTLY SHIFTING 
----------------------------------------- 
 
3.  (C)  Former mayor of Jeremie and Grand-Anse senatorial 
candidate Jean Beauport told PolOff that a new coalition was 
forming that comprised Evans Paul's Convention for Democratic 
Unity (KID), Gerard Blot's Head's Together (Tet Anselm), 
Claude Romain's Popular Party to Renew Haiti (PPRH), Henold 
Buteau's Movement for National Reconstruction (MRN) and Axan 
Abelard's REPONSE parties. Beauport said an announcement 
could be made later in April once the parties agreed on a 
common platform and selected a presidential candidate. If the 
coalition won, Beauport said the post-electoral strategy 
would include a national unity government with a "60/40 
split." The Prime Minister would be appointed from a party 
within the coalition and 40 percent of the cabinet seats 
would go to parties outside of the coalition. 
 
4.  (U) Following the February 19 National Penitentiary 
breakout, the National Initiative to Save the Transition was 
established to call for the resignation of Latortue and the 
interim government.  Members include Dany Toussaint and 
Prince Sonson's Haitian Democratic and Reform Party 
(MODEREH), Turneb Delpe's Haitian National Democratic 
Progressive Party (PNDPH), George Blot's Tet Anselm, and 
Belizaire Dejean's National Patriotic Movement-November 28 
(MNP-28). 
 
5.  (U) Media reported February 17 that five parties formed 
the National Front of Independent Parties (FRONTPAIN). The 
National Agricultural and Industrial Party (PAIN), the 
National Labor Party (PNT), the Patriotic Union of Democrats 
(UPD), the Institutionalized Democratic Party (PDI) and the 
PRS (nfi). FRONTPAIN called for "economic liberalism, under 
the auspices of a strong state." 
 
III. PARTY CONVENTIONS FILL MONTH OF APRIL 
------------------------------------------ 
 
6.  (U)  The Christian Movement for a New Haiti (MOCHRENA) 
held its national conference April 9 in Gonaives, the party's 
birthplace. To no one's surprise, party leader Luc Mesadieu 
was announced as the party's presidential candidate. 
Mesadieu told PolCouns April 13 that 5-6000 attended the 
conference (Note: this seems exaggerated. End Note). 
According to Mesadieu, there were several tire-burnings and 
roadblocks set up early to prevent people from attending the 
conference; however, MINUSTAH responded and removed the 
blockades and provided some degree of visible security at the 
gathering. Mesadieu, a dentist by training, has been a 
Protestant pastor since 1979.  He ran unsuccessfully for the 
presidency in 2000. 
 
7.  (SBU)  PolOff attended the Popular Party to Renew Haiti's 
(see www.pprh.com) national congress on April 9. The PPRH was 
the fusion between Generation 2004 (led by Claude Roumain and 
Daniel Supplice, an unsuccessful senate candidate in 2000) 
and the then-defunct Social Liberal Party of Haiti (PLSH), 
led by Serge Boris Montes. Supplice said PPRH would pursue 
the "strongest possible alliance" for elections. 
Approximately 1000 partisans jammed a local nightclub to 
listen to the party's leaders. As has been the case at most 
conferences, there were more partisans than actual delegates. 
It was embarrassingly quiet when a moderator did the 
roll-call of delegates from each of the ten Departments. 
 
8.  (U)  Supplice criticized the current government for the 
poor security situation (the event was overshadowed by the 
continuous gunfire heard from the HNP/MINUSTAH operation that 
led to the deaths of two prominent gangsters) and said the 
next-elected government needed to bolster the police. He also 
saw a need to focus attention on education and providing 
medicine to the needy. Supplice's comment that garnered the 
most applause was his call for a Haitian Army to protect the 
nation. Roumain's speech, nearly entirely in Creole, focused 
on building modern and democratically-structured political 
parties to change Haiti's status as an "ungovernable chaotic 
entity." 
 
9.  (U)  On April 14, PolOff attended the first national 
congress of the National Christian Union for the 
Reconstruction of Haiti (UNCRH). Part political rally, part 
evangelical revival, close to 800 people nominated Dr. 
Chavannes Jean Jeune as leader of the party. Noteworthy 
guests included former President Leslie Manigat (RDNP's 
candidate), Serge Gilles (Social Democrats' candidate), Evans 
Paul (KID's candidate) and Dany Toussaint of MODEREH. 
 
10.  (U)  Chavannes said the party must trust in God to lead 
the country in the right direction.  He claimed he had strong 
support from the southern part of Haiti (his home) and from 
the Diaspora.  Americans Dr. Joseph (J.L.) Williams from the 
North Carolina-based ministry New Directions International 
and Ted Boers of Partners Worldwide (see 
www.partnersworldwide.org/Haiti/who.html.) spoke fervently in 
support of Chavannes as a unifying leader. 
 
11.  (SBU)  In an April 11 meeting with UNCRH advisor (and 
former IGOH Minister) Robert Ulysse, we learned Chavannes 
would not be announced as the presidential candidate until 
pending alliances were sorted out. Ulysse said, and Chavannes 
repeated April 14, that UNCRH is allied with the Haitian 
Civic-Political Front (FRONTCIPH), a loose electoral alliance 
of right-wing and religious parties formed in September 1999. 
Ulysse further said UNCRH was collaborating with the Social 
Democrats (and might support Serge Gilles as the overall 
candidate). 
 
IV. MORE POSSIBLE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES 
----------------------------------------- 
 
12.  (U)  Solon Joachim (PhD) called from Minnesota April 8 
and told PolOff that he would run for the presidency. Joachim 
is 65 years old and has a website "www.haitishope.com".  He 
has been outside of Haiti for nearly 40 years, which would be 
an issue due to the residency requirements to participate in 
elections. Joachim said he would run as an independent 
candidate and challenge the constitution since it was 
"written as a decree." (Note: it was not. End Note.) 
 
13.  (SBU)  Dr. Guy Deve Theodore is a prominent physician in 
Pignon, located 40 miles south from Cap-Haitien. Dr. Theodore 
spent several years in the U.S. and was in the U.S. Air 
Force. Dr. Theodore told EmbOff April 12 that he would travel 
to Washington, D.C. next week to discuss elections (at the 
Inter-American Dialogue). Theodore is an AmCit and local 
warden and would have to challenge the electoral decree that 
requires Haitian nationality (Note: the constitution does not 
recognize dual-nationality. End Note.) 
V.  CEP COMMISSIONS 
------------------- 
14.  (SBU) Part of the fragmentation in the work of the CEP 
stems from the vertical structure of the Commissions that was 
adopted by the CEP.  Even though members have their 
individual commission responsibilities either as president or 
as a member, all decisions by the commissions are still 
reviewed by the CEP as a whole.  This is a time consuming 
process that also allows some room for the commissions to 
avoid responsibility by being able to blame a lack of 
progress on the CEP organization, which they created. 
 
15.  (U) 
RECRUITMENT - Josefa Gauthier, President 
ELECTORAL OPERATIONS - Patrick Fequiere, President 
ADMINISTRATIVE - Rosemond Pradel, President 
JURIDICAL (LEGAL) - Max Mathurin, President 
CIVIC EDUCATION - Freud Jean, President 
FINANCE AND BUDGET - Francois Benoit, President 
PUBLIC RELATIONS - Gerson Richme, President 
REGISTRATION - Pierre-Richard Duchemin, President 
 
FOLEY