US embassy cable - 05PORTAUPRINCE2570

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 002570 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR 
DRL 
S/CRS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR 
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KDEM, HA, Elections 
SUBJECT: HAITI REGISTRATION: WELCOME SUCCESS STORY 
 
1. Summary:  According to OAS officials, 3,105,000 voters had 
registered as of October 10.  They project roughly 3.2 
million will have registered by October 15.  The registration 
site in Cite Soleil, opened on October 5, is operating 
smoothly and registering between 300-400 voters per day.  ID 
cards continue to arrive in Haiti, but the lack of 
distribution sites and additional quality control checks are 
slowing distribution.  OAS staff hope that voting centers 
will shortly open nationwide to serve as distribution points, 
as originally planned.  Though long-delayed and slower than 
anticipated, registration can be classed as a major success. 
Post will press the IGOH and political actors to build on the 
success of the electoral effort to create momentum for the 
campaign, and to continue to pressure Haitian elections 
officials to ensure timely elections.  End Summary. 
 
2. OAS elections chief Elizabeth Spehar told Poloff that 
3,105,000 voters had registered as of October 10 and 
reiterated her belief that at least 3.2 million voters would 
be registered by October 15, the final deadline for 
registration.  Spehar's estimate takes into account 
incomplete reporting from remote areas due to bad weather. 
Nationwide, registration averaged 10,000 per day between 
September 30 and October 10, down from roughly 42,000 per day 
in the last week of September.  According to MINUSTAH 
elections officials, registration at the new site in volatile 
Cite Soleil continues without disruption.  Since opening on 
October 5, between 300-400 people have registered daily on 
the site's six computers.  MINUSTAH reports no problems with 
violence or fraud, and plans to begin basing assistance 
programs such as food distribution and trash pickup at the 
site. 
 
3. The OAS has received roughly 500,000 ID cards, and started 
card distribution in Port-au-Prince on a small scale. 
Registered voters line up daily where cards are available 
based on word-of-mouth news.  The OAS still plans to 
distribute the bulk of ID cards through voting centers so 
that voters know the location of their voting center before 
election day.  In order to begin distribution in urban areas, 
the OAS has informally designated some urban registration 
sites as voting centers even though the CEP has not 
officially chosen the voting centers. 
 
4. Comment: With the successful operation of the Cite Soleil 
centers and targeted efforts to reach rural voters, the 
registration effort has succeeded, both in terms of numbers 
and fair and equal access to voter registration centers. 
Though carried out far more slowly and with more difficulty 
than anticipated, the effort ultimately succeeded because of 
cooperation and flexibility between the CEP and the OAS.  OAS 
experts were proactive, actively challenging the CEP into 
action.  The CEP member responsible for registration, 
Pierre-Richard Duchemin worked well with the OAS and 
frequently presented his CEP colleagues with faits acompli. 
If elections are to occur on time, Haitian and MINUSTAH 
elections officials must adopt this model in some form.  The 
success of the Cite Soleil registration center also bodes 
well for the prospect of orderly elections.  MINUSTAH 
officials negotiated directly with community leaders (most 
avowed Aristide supporters) who pressed for access to the 
registration process, guaranteed the safety of registration 
workers and registrants, and encouraged their partisans to 
register. 
CARNEY