US embassy cable - 03AMMAN3135

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003135 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SECSTATE FOR DAS LIZ CHENEY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2010 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, SCUL, OEXC, OIIP, JO 
SUBJECT: ELECTION SUPPORT ACTIVITIES 
 
Classified By: Haynes Mahoney, PA 
 
1. (C) Summary.  In the three remaining weeks before the June 
17 Parliamentary elections the Mission is coordinating with 
MEPI-funded NGOs, including the National Democratic Institute 
(NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI) to 
strengthen the electoral process and traditions, to encourage 
participation by women and youth, and to ensure that the 
elections are as transparent and fair as possible.  We are 
sensitive to that fine line between the need to inform the 
GOJ of USG-funded activities while encouraging the Jordanian 
officials to allow maximum leeway for non-governmental 
activity aimed at strengthening the elections' credibility. 
In his meetings with the Ambassador and with the PAO and 
USAID Director Planning Minister Bassem Awadullah has been 
generally supportive of our election programming, expressing 
the caveat that it should be low profile, lest --as he told 
the PAO and USAID Director-- Islamists with an anti-U.S. 
agenda claim that the USG is trying to skew the election 
results. So far, both the Mission's Public Affairs Section 
and the U.S. NGOs have been able to conduct a number of 
activities such as advising female candidates, training 
journalists on election coverage, and providing fora in which 
candidates can debate and convey their message to the 
electorate.  These activities have all been conducted under 
the auspices of Jordanian civic organizations. End summary. 
 
Supporting Women Candidates 
 
2. (U)  Both the Mission and the NGOs have supported 
Jordanian women who are running for the six women's quota 
seats or hoping to beat male candidates outright.  Public 
Affairs arranged the program of U.S. campaign manager Daryl 
Glenny who counseled 18 out of the 36 registered female 
candidates during her IIP-sponsored May 18-27 visit.  In 
individual sessions arranged by the Jordanian National 
Women's Forum, Ms. Glenny advised the candidates --who 
represented the full political spectrum-- on shaping their 
messages and maximizing their resources in the final stages 
before election day.  PA has also given the National Women's 
Forum a grant to fund a phone bank, enabling any female 
candidate who wishes to canvass her constituents by phone. 
 
3. (C) Simultaneously NDI in cooperation with the Women's 
Forum, a Jordanian NGO, raised funds from the Canadian 
Embassy and some local corporations to produce TV spots and 
SMS mobile phone text messages urging voters to elect women. 
There was some initial misunderstandings among some Jordanian 
NGO leaders who thought that NDI was funding individual 
candidates, but their representatives told the Mission that 
they have since clarified that the TV spots and SMS messages 
are strictly generic.  NDI hopes that two Jordanian TV 
stations and possibly one Arab satellite broadcaster will air 
the messages.  They likewise plan to develop a manual for 
women candidates in future elections and to support media 
training by the Women's Media Center, a Jordanian NGO.  NDI 
is also contacting international media and encouraging them 
to focus on the high level of activity by female candidates 
in this conservative, male-oriented society. 
 
Engaging the Electorate 
 
4. (C) To focus Jordanian journalists on the "so-what" aspect 
of their reporting about the elections, PA is funding an 
ongoing three-day workshop featuring the IIP-sponsored 
American journalism professor Tom Warhover and an Egyptian 
counterpart.  The training, which is being conducted by an 
NGO --the Jordanian Committee for the Defense of the Freedom 
of Journalists-- will focus on reporting skills plus the 
legal and political environment and will include hands-on 
training in the form of interviews  and coverage of a debate 
between actual candidates. NDI and IRI both plan on "town 
meetings" and other fora enabling candidates to debate and 
answer the electorate's questions.  Working with the local 
branch of Transparency International, NDI is organizing a 
local NGO which will assess the election environment and 
possibly lay the groundwork for a future monitoring 
organization. IRI also plans on assessing voter priorities 
and motivations through an exit poll conducted by a local 
Jordanian organization. 
 
5. (U) Election apathy has been a particular problem among 
Jordanian youth.  Using MEPI funds, the IRI therefore plans 
to hold three "mock parliaments," for university-age students 
in different regions under the auspices of the Princess Basma 
Youth Resources Center --an "NGO" associated with the Royal 
Court. Similarly, NDI plans to hold a televised "town hall 
meeting" between candidates and youth, which they hope will 
be broadcast on JTV. 
 
Modest but Hopeful Expectations 
 
6.  (C) Jordanians expect turnout to be modest for the 
elections, an expectation confirmed by casual conversations. 
Among the elite business community, students and workers the 
question is: "What can the Parliament do for me?"  Many doubt 
that the government will allow the truly qualified opposition 
politicians to run or be elected, and there are many 
complaints about the skewed delineation of election districts 
to disadvantage the urban and Palestinian voters.  The most 
hopeful aspect, in many Jordanians' eyes, are the six women's 
quota seats, for which there is a high level of competition 
and public interest. 
 
(C) Nevertheless, assuming the elections are perceived to be 
relatively transparent and fair compared to the last 
elections of 1997, where stuffed ballots and other 
irregularities were common, they could be a positive step 
towards representative government.  Our Mission activities 
and those by the MEPI-supported NGOs aim at providing 
candidates, especially women, with campaigning skills and at 
awakening an interest among the youth. We hope our activities 
will pave the way for increased participation in future 
elections.  Also, the holding of relatively free and fair 
elections soon after the Iraq war and just prior to the June 
21-23 World Economic Forum will send an important message 
about Jordanian stability and commitment to democratic 
progress. 
GNEHM