US embassy cable - 05PORTAUPRINCE2690

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 002690 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
WHA ALSO FOR USOAS 
STATE FOR S/CRS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, HA, Elections 
SUBJECT: HAITI ELECTIONS: PROGRESS TOWARD FIRST ROUND ON 
DECEMBER 18 
 
REF: PORT-AU-PRINCE 2667 
 
1.  This message is sensitive but unclassified -- protect 
accordingly. 
 
2. (SBU) Summary:  The Interim Government of Haiti (IGOH) on 
October 28 promulgated amendments to electoral decrees that 
reduce the time necessary to prepare for national elections 
and preserve the possibility of holding the first round on 
December 18.  The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) 
published the provisional list of parliamentary candidates on 
October 31.  CEP Director General Jacques Bernard is also 
working closely with MINUSTAH to create additional 
efficiencies and thus save more time.  Bernard reported to 
Charge Carney on November 3 that the PM had assured him that 
the State Commission on the Nationality of Candidates (CENC) 
would officially notify the CEP that Dumarsais Simeus and 
Samir Mourra are ineligible to contest the presidency.  With 
this notification in hand, the CEP was prepared to exclude 
them and publish the final list of presidential candidates on 
November 4.  In that event, Simeus and Mourra will likely 
lodge a challenge to the constitutionality of the CENC with 
the Supreme Court.  Simeus and Mourra would also likely 
appeal their exclusion from the presidential candidates list 
to the CEP.  End Summary. 
 
Gaining Time in the Electoral Calendar 
-------------------------------------- 
 
3. (U) The October 28 changes remove the Supreme Court from 
the elections appeals process.  This step reduces the time 
for election contestations to nine days by making the CEP the 
last instance of appeal for all elections contestations and 
opened the way for the CEP to publish the lists of 
parliamentary candidates.  The international community, led 
by SRSG Valdes, pushed the IGOH to take this step, including 
it in its ten necessary actions drafted in September in order 
to ensure successful elections.  Regional Electoral Office 
(BED) officials posted those lists on October 31.  According 
to the new decree, candidates left off the provisional lists 
have three days to appeal to either the communal offices 
(BECs) or BEDs, which must make a decision within three days. 
 The CEP is the final recourse for candidates to appeal 
BEC/BED rulings; candidates have one day to contest a BEC/BED 
decision and the CEP has two days in which to make a final 
ruling. 
 
4.  (U) The new amendments also shorten the time-frame for 
parties and candidates to contest elections results from 
three days to one.  This change eliminates two days between 
the close of voting and the certification of elections 
results after each round, a timesaving that will be critical 
between the first and second round of national elections. 
MINUSTAH elections chief LeChevallier and Bernard are also 
preparing to expedite rulings on candidate contestations. 
Bernard told Poloff he would ensure the CEP treats candidate 
appeals quickly by convening the three-member CEP appeals 
panels immediately once appeals reach the CEP.  (Note: 
Previous delays in ruling on contestations to the 
presidential list stemmed largely from their tardy treatment 
by the CEP.  End Note.) 
 
5. (U) The government also published on October 28 a 
presidential order containing the already out-of-date 
electoral calendar, calling for national elections on 
November 20, local elections on December 11, and the second 
round of national elections on January 3.  Per Reftel, the 
IGOH, MINUSTAH, the CEP, and the OAS consider December 18 the 
first feasible date for national elections, and January 29 as 
the first possible date for a second round.  By taking the 
necessary legal step of convening elections, however, this 
order should allow the government to quickly establish final 
election dates by amendment. 
 
New By-Laws Put Bernard Formally in Charge 
------------------------------------------- 
 
6. (SBU) According to Bernard, the Cabinet approved on 
October 29 new by-laws for the CEP that enhance Bernard's 
authority and limit the support committee's role, despite 
protests by support committee chairperson Danielle Magloire 
and member Minister of Culture Magali Comeau Denis.  The 
endorsement of Bernard by the IGOH also isolates CEP member 
Pierre- Richard Duchemin, who continues to fight to maintain 
his own authority and for a prominent role for the support 
committee.  The CEP must, but has not yet formally adopted 
the new by-laws, but Bernard reports that he has the solid 
support of six of the nine CEP members, including CEP 
President Mathurin.  With this support, he has the ability to 
move on actions demanding immediate attention. 
 
Final Presidential List Pending 
------------------------------- 
 
7. (SBU) Bernard confirmed to the Charge on November 3 that 
he is still waiting for formal findings from the CENC before 
the CEP publishes the final list of presidential candidates. 
He later reported that the Prime Minister would ensure that 
today, November 3, the CENC would provide the CEP written 
notification that Simeus and Mourra were not eligible 
presidential candidates.  With this notification in hand, 
Bernard reported that the CEP would publish the final 
presidential list without Simeus and Mourra on November 4. 
(NOTE:  The PM also reportedly told Bernard that the 
government had published the decree establishing the CENC 
&some time ago.8  A post contact at the Monitor, the 
official government register, subsequently reported that the 
decree had appeared &over the weekend.8  Post is in the 
process of confirming this information and obtaining this 
issue of the Monitor.  End Note) 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
8. (SBU)  Bernard has in large measure succeeded so far: as a 
result of his efforts December 18 remains a viable date for 
the first round, and the IGOH and the CEP have managed to 
meet critical deadlines.  Every day remains crucial, however, 
and the IGOH must continue to back Bernard.  If the IGOH and 
the CEP follow through with their intention to exclude Simeus 
and Mourra from the final presidential list, the dispute will 
move into the legal realm.  Both Simeus and Mourra have told 
Polcouns that they will challenge the constitutionality of 
the CENC in the Supreme Court. 
CARNEY