US embassy cable - 05PORTAUPRINCE2991

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT AU PRINCE 002991 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR 
DRL 
S/CRS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR 
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) 
TREASURY FOR MAUREEN WAFER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KDEM, HA, Elections 
SUBJECT: HAITI ELECTIONS: KEY TASKS AND DEADLINES 
 
1. Summary: This message summarizes the main logistical tasks 
to be completed in preparation for the Haitian elections 
scheduled for January 8 and February 19, 2006. The OAS and 
MINUSTAH report that 2.45 million of the 3,533,430 ID cards 
have arrived in Haiti.  Card distribution is just beginning, 
but the OAS projects that it will finish by December 31.  Two 
printers in the Dominican Republic have begun printing 
ballots and expect to finish printing by December 10 - 12. 
The CEP must hire and train roughly 40,000 poll workers for 
Election Day.  The OAS began printing the 9,200 partial 
electoral lists December 5 and projects that it will finish 
printing December 17.  The CEP, MINUSTAH and the Interim 
Government of Haiti must decide between two competing methods 
for transmitting results to Port-au-Prince for tabulation, 
satellite transmission or overland transport.  Card 
distribution and poll workers training are the most critical 
aspects to watch.  Incomplete card distribution could cause 
public confidence in elections to ebb and depress voter 
turnout while delayed poll-worker training would endanger the 
scheduled electoral dates.  End Summary. 
 
2. ID Cards 
----------- 
 
After repeated delay, MINUSTAH reported that the OAS began 
opening rural distribution centers December 2, but the first 
ID Card distribution centers in urban areas did not open 
until December 4.  In urban areas with many voting sites, the 
OAS will affix stickers to the ID cards telling voters where 
to vote.  However, the stickers did not arrive on time.  As a 
stop-gap measure, the OAS purchased 100,000 stickers locally 
and began distribution at four large distribution centers in 
Port-au-Prince December 4.  OAS elections chief Elizabeth 
Spehar reported that the first shipment of 1.5 million 
stickers arrived in Port-au-Prince December 5 and the OAS 
plans to open the remaining urban card distribution centers 
December 8.  Spehar projects that the OAS will finish 
distribution by December 31.  MINUSTAH elections officials, 
however, are skeptical.  They complain that the OAS has no 
coherent plan for distribution and that equipment such as 
generators and solar panels in many of the former 
registration centers, now converted to distribution centers, 
needs to be repaired or replaced before distribution can 
begin. 
 
Key Deadlines: 
 
-- ASAP: Remaining stickers for cards arrive in Haiti 
-- December 8: All card distribution centers open 
-- December 20: All ID cards delivered to Haiti 
-- December 31: ID Card distribution complete 
 
Comment: The OAS has yet to achieve its peak distribution 
rate, which makes it difficult to assess whether it will 
finish distribution.  However, incomplete distribution does 
not preclude an election.  Each voting site will have a list 
with photographs of the voters assigned to it.  Post has a 
copy of the draft text of a decree that would permit voting 
with registration receipts.  However, incomplete distribution 
of id cards could detract from voter confidence. 
 
3. Ballots 
---------- 
 
Ballot printing began in the Dominican Republic on November 
23.  The printers are contractually obligated to finish by 
December 14, though in a radio interview November 30, Haitian 
contractor Reginald Boulos said he expects to be finished by 
December 10 - 12.  Boulos reported that all of the 
presidential ballots and all of the ballots for the 
departments of Grand Anse and Centre had been printed.  He 
said the last ballot template, for a deputy race, arrived in 
the Dominican Republic November 30, clearing the way to 
complete all remaining printing.  When finished, the CEP will 
transfer the ballots to Port-au-Prince, where MINUSTAH will 
store them until they are ready to be transported to the 
provinces for the first round. 
 
Key Deadlines: 
 
-- December 15: All Ballots Finished and in Port-au-Prince 
-- December 16 - January 5: MINUSTAH transports ballots to 
departments 
-- January 6 - 7: UNPOL transports ballots to Voting Centers 
 
Comment: MINUSTAH will have a slim margin of error to 
distribute ballots to the countryside.  In the last phase, 
UNPOL will only have two days to deliver the ballots from the 
11 BEDs to the 9,200 voting sites. 
 
4. Personnel 
------------ 
 
The CEP, MINUSTAH and OAS must hire and train nearly 40,000 
poll workers for election day.  MINUSTAH hired 48 supervisory 
trainers from among the best OAS registration staff and 
trained them in Port-au-Prince.  Subsequent training of 308 
regional trainers hired by the OAS, BEDs and BECs ended 
December 2.  These regional trainers are scheduled to train 
the 805 voting center managers December 19 - 23.  The 
managers will then train the 9,200 voting site presidents, 
chosen by the BEDs and BECs, in two rounds of two days each 
between December 25 and January 1.  The presidents will then 
train the remaining three poll workers per voting site in the 
first days of 2006. 
 
Key Deadlines: 
 
-- December 19 - 23: Training for voting center managers 
-- December 24: First group of voting site presidents hired 
-- December 26 - 27: First round of Voting Site Presidents 
trained 
-- December 26: Second group of voting site presidents hired 
-- December 28 - 29: Second round of Voting Site Presidents 
trained 
-- December 29: All Poll workers hired 
-- January 1 - 5: All voting site personnel trained 
 
Comment: The most challenging aspect of this complicated and 
compressed training scheme is the hiring of the roughly 
40,000 election day poll workers.  This task is inherently 
sensitive.  BED and BEC authorities will want to have a hand 
in the process to take care of family and friends and to 
curry favor locally; poll workers have also historically been 
used to influence voting.  MINUSTAH elections officials want 
to proceed with extreme caution in relying on BED or BEC 
personnel to complete poll worker hiring, fearing both 
favoritism and inefficiency. 
 
5. Partial Electoral Lists 
-------------------------- 
 
The OAS and CEP closed the electoral list, which includes all 
voters, and divided it into 9,200 partial electoral lists 
(LEP), one for each voting site.  The OAS began printing the 
LEPs December 5.  According to OAS elections chief Elizabeth 
Spehar, it will take twelve days to print two sets of 9,200 
LEPs, a copy for each voting site and a backup for each BEC. 
The CEP will hold an electronic copy of the master list. 
MINUSTAH estimates that it will need five days to distribute 
the LEPs. 
 
Key Dates 
 
-- December 17: Finish Printing LEPs 
-- December 18: Distribute LEPs 
 
6. Transmitting the Results and Counting the Votes 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
CEP and MINUSTAH officials agree that vote counting should be 
centralized in Port-au-Prince, but disagree about how voting 
data should be transmitted to the capital.  MINUSTAH has 
rented a warehouse in Port-au-Prince for vote counting.  They 
plan to equip the center with an internal network of 
computers and facilities so that the media, political parties 
and dignitaries can watch the vote count.  However, there is 
disagreement about how the results will arrive in 
Port-au-Prince.  CEP member Francois Benoit and the IGOH 
advocate transmitting the results directly from the BECs to 
the counting center using a network of computers with 
satellite connections.  The Ministry of Interior installed 
some computers and satellite dishes around the country, but 
is not close to finishing the installation.  Meanwhile, 
MINUSTAH and CEP DG Bernard believe results should be taken 
to Port-au-Prince by land and air transport.  They say the 
satellite transmission system will create more problems than 
it solves because Haiti's weak infrastructure will make the 
system prone to failure. 
 
Key Dates 
 
-- ASAP: Method for transmitting results chosen 
-- ASAP: Logistical plan for transmitting results finalized 
-- December 26: Counting center fully operational 
 
Comment: We believe that elections results should be brought 
to Port-au-Prince by land and air.  Haiti's decrepit 
infrastructure makes a failure in some part of the satellite 
transmission system likely, meaning MINUSTAH would in any 
case have to plan to physically retrieve results at any given 
BEC on short notice.  Because elections spoilers will likely 
use any delays and/or irregularities to fuel claims fraud, 
MINUSTAH, the CEP and IGOH should focus on creating a 
realistic and foolproof transmission system.  End Comment. 
CARNEY