US embassy cable - 05DJIBOUTI650

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DJIBOUTI 000650 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF AND AF/E; 
LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/04/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, PHUM, PREL, DJ 
SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI PURSUES OPEN DECENTRALIZATION FORUM; 
OPPOSITION BOYCOTTS 
 
Classified By: Pol/Econ Erinn C. Stott for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: A national forum opened July 2 to debate 
the draft legislation establishing a special status for the 
capital, Djibouti City, within the context of Djibouti's 
decentralization law passed in 2002. The ten-day forum, 
hosted by Minister of Interior, Yacin Elmi Bouh, is open to 
representatives of all recognized political parties, but 
closed to the public at this time. Members of civil society 
will reportedly have the opportunity to voice their opinions 
in a later event. The heads of each political party received 
a personally addressed invitation to the forum directly from 
the Minister of Interior on June 16. At the opening session 
of the forum only the four political parties of the Union for 
Presidential Majority (UMP) coalition and the newest party, 
Union of Reform Partisans (UPR), attended. Outcast opposition 
party, Djiboutian Party for Democracy (PDD), boycotted - 
demanding a full census and overhaul of Djibouti's electoral 
lists. The three parties of the opposition coalition, Union 
for Democratic Alternance (UAD), boycotted as well - saying 
any negotiations on decentralization issues must first 
address the reportedly incomplete implementation of the 2001 
Peace Accord between the Government and the Armed Front for 
the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD). End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) Minister of Interior, Yacin Elmi Bouh, announced 
June 20 to the Djiboutian public that a national forum would 
be held on July 2nd to debate the draft legislation of the 
special status of Djibouti City. This special status was one 
of many criteria to be fulfilled in the 2002 Decentralization 
Law, which outlined the need to distribute power among the 
four existing districts and create a fifth additional 
district. The legislation giving Djibouti City a special, 
separate status from any of the districts will determine how 
election for city and community councils will take place, how 
the Council of Djibouti will govern, authorities and licenses 
granted to the Council of Djibouti, how the head of the 
Council of Djibouti is chosen, and what will make up the 
City's budget. 
 
3. (SBU) On June 16, each political party was sent a 
personally addressed invitation from Minister Bouh to 
participate in the forum. The invitation specified the forum 
would take place on July 2, 2005 and each party could have a 
maximum of 5 representatives in attendance. Accompanying the 
invitation was a copy of the draft law of the special status 
for Djibouti City. All parties would have the opportunity 
during the forum to offer their amendments to the law and 
debate all amendments among the parties. Minister Bouh's 
invitation emphasized the Government's will to include the 
parties in the creation of this important law, saying "we can 
not leave the political parties on the outside of this 
reform, in fact, on one hand they are unavoidable partners in 
all society's projects, and on the other hand they make up 
the only skilled instruments to work towards universal 
suffrage." 
 
4. (U) The three parties of the opposition coalition, UAD, 
issued a press release on 25 June stating that it was 
favorable to a dialogue on the implementation of the 2001 
peace accords between the Government and the armed FRUD. 
However, since the draft legislation for the special statute 
for Djibouti City contained no reference to the peace 
accords, the UAD did not see the interest in participating in 
a forum it called a media stunt for a piece of legislation 
unilaterally concocted and contrary to all decentralization. 
On the other hand, the statement said the coalition would be 
willing to contribute to a joint writing of the Capital's 
statute. The press release also stated, regarding the 
announcement of regional elections before the end of the 
year, that no credible election could be organized without 
the establishment of electoral transparency. The coalition 
demanded that the government show political will to rapidly 
implement the democratic climate in order to establish a 
state of rights based on an independent and free justice; a 
real electoral transparency containing the nine points 
proposed by the UAD since May 2004; a true decentralization 
based on the peace accords signed 12 May 2001 and starting 
with organization of community elections; and the 
organization of future legislative elections using a 
proportional method of representation. 
 
5. (C) The opposition party Djiboutian Democratic Party 
(PDD), excommunicated from the UAD coalition as a result of 
PDD's president going against the coalition boycott of 
national elections by declaring himself a Presidential 
candidate, sent a letter to the President and the Minister of 
Interior informing that it would not participate in the forum 
and demanding a complete revision of electoral lists before 
any elections were organized. Embassy's sources in the 
Ministry of Interior indicate that a revision in order to add 
names has already started, but no mention of scrutinizing the 
lists for deceased voters or voters from neighboring 
countries - one of the main claims of electoral misconduct 
made by all opposition parties - was made. 
 
6. (U) The parties participating in the forum are the four 
which comprise the Union for Presidential Majority (People's 
Rally for Progress - RPP, Front for Restoration of Unity and 
Democracy - FRUD, Djiboutian National Party - PND, and Social 
Democrats Party - PSD) and the newest and unaligned party, 
Union for Reform Partisans. According to the Djiboutian 
Information Agency article on the forum, the first day of the 
forum was dedicated to examining the laws currently in force. 
The article also stated that many of the party leaders had 
already submitted several proposed amendments to the draft 
legislation. These amendments were for a different division 
involving administrative autonomy and another division into 
communities each with their own mayor - modeled after the 
French system. Most of the amendments involved modifying the 
judicial plan on two levels of decentralization - the region 
and the community. 
 
7. (C) Embassy obtained a copy of the draft legislation, 
which was not made public, from one of the opposition 
political parties. The legislation divides Djibouti City into 
three urban districts or "communes": Ras-Dika, the northern 
tip of the city and the commercial district; Boulaos, 
currently the 1st, 2nd and 3rd quartiers; and Hayableh, 
currently the 4th and 5th quartiers. The city's management 
would be broken down to several Community Councils, the 
Council of Djibouti, and the Executive of the Council of 
Djibouti. Each urban district would form an electoral 
circumscription. Voters registered in the current electoral 
lists would determine the composition of each Community 
Council. Each member of the Community Council would represent 
1,000 registered voters, with Community Council members 
elected to three year terms. 
 
8. (C) Elections for community and city councils would give 
50 percent of the seats to the list that wins an absolute 
majority in the first round. The remaining seats would be 
attributed proportionally among the other lists that obtain 
more than 5 percent of the vote. Each party that submits a 
list for community or city council will have to pay a deposit 
of 350,000 DF (approx. 1,977 USD), which will be reimbursed 
if the list receive 5 percent of the ballot. 
 
9. (C) Community councils would have authority to manage 
social, cultural and sports equipment of the district, Open 
public tenders, Public works, Occupation of public domain, 
and temporary authorization of land use. The President of 
each Community council would have specific authority to 
control the civil state, authorization of construction, 
student enrollment, school properties, exams for primary and 
college levels, community budget management, and the 
presidency of the customary first-degree court. 
 
10. (C) The Council of Djibouti would be made up of members 
elected by Community Counsels with the following proportions: 
5 representatives from Ras Dika, 20 from Boulaos, and 10 from 
Hayableh. The city council would have authority to control 
programs and projects for Djibouti City; budgets and accounts 
for the Community Councils and Djibouti City, to protect the 
environment, maintain public works and property, accept or 
refuse donations, maintain common equipment belonging to the 
Council, tax institutions as defined by law, and cooperation 
with other communities. The Council of Djibouti would not 
have any authority over national defense, international 
diplomacy, money, justice, or national taxation. The Council 
would however be able to request humanitarian, economic, 
social and cultural assistance from foreign organizations. 
The Mayor of Djibouti would be appointed by Presidential 
Decree. The budget of the Council of Djibouti would be 
composed of donations and transfers from the State, tax 
resources, participation of other regions, and taxation of 
other services rendered. 
11. (C) Comment: Regardless of the opposition's boycott of 
this forum, Post sees this move by the government as a good 
faith gesture and a show of political will to include those 
parties that are not a part of the National Assembly. 
Moreover, the opportunity for the Government and the 
opposition coalition to dialogue still exists. Post has also 
heard that even among the majority coalition there is 
significant disagreement with the way the draft legislation 
handles regional versus community authority. 
RAGSDALE