SYMBOLIC PARLIAMENTARY RESOLUTION AGAINST IRAQI

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 000150

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/06/2015
TAGS: PGOV PTER IZ JO
SUBJECT: SYMBOLIC PARLIAMENTARY RESOLUTION AGAINST IRAQI
VOTER REGISTRATION CAMPAIGN

REF: 04 AMMAN 09898

Classified By: CDA David Hale for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d)


1. (C) Summary. The International Organization for
Migration (IOM) has started a voter registration media
campaign for Iraqis in Jordan with the placement of
billboards and posters throughout Amman. The Lower House of
Parliament adopted a symbolic resolution January 5 against
the electoral propaganda, alleging that it amounted to
"interference in the internal affairs of another country."
Foreign Minister al-Mulki and Royal Court Minister Rifai told
Charge they were outraged at Parliament's action and that
Interior Minister Habashneh would firmly rebut the
non-binding resolution at Parliament's next session on
January 10. Action request para 5. End Summary.


2. (C) Richard Scott, project manager for the Out-of-Country
Voting (OCV) Program in Jordan run by the International
Organization for Migration, confirmed to PolOff that his
office had successfully launched a media campaign encouraging
Iraqis to register to vote with the placement of billboards
and posters around Amman. The OCV office concentrated voter
registration posters in areas it believed housed large
numbers of Iraqis, while billboards were distributed
throughout the city. Scott said that radio and TV
advertisements would follow shortly. He noted that he had
heard of criticism of OCV registration of Iraqis in Jordan,
but had not encountered any complaints directly.


3. (C) The OCV posters and billboards became the focus of a
heated debate in Parliament January 5. MP Nariman Rousan
(East Banker, Irbid - 5th Dist.) was the first to condemn the
media campaign on the Lower House floor, alleging that it
could transfer the armed struggle in Iraq into Jordan.
Rousan, a woman whose businessman brother was killed in Iraq
in July 2004 under mysterious circumstances, also complained
that electoral registration and campaigning by Iraqis in
Jordan was not authorized under Jordanian law. Several
prominent MPs quickly jumped on the bandwagon, including head
of the Legal Committee Ghaleb Zubi (East Banker, Balqa - 1st
Dist.) and Abdul Kareem Dughmi ((East Banker, Mafraq),who
heads a loose coalition that includes roughly 50 MPs. The
Lower House eventually approved, by a large majority, a
symbolic resolution (which is not binding on the government)
calling for the removal of electoral propaganda and declaring
the OCV media campaign "an interference in the internal
affairs of another country." Afterwards, some MPs told Pol
FSN privately that they and others voted for the resolution
primarily out of fear that the registration drive could
attract the wrath of violent Iraqi insurgents, rather than
out of opposition to the scheduled Iraqi elections.


4. (C) On the margins of a January 5 dinner hosted by King
Abdullah, Foreign Minister al-Mulki and Royal Court Minister
Samir Rifai expressed their outrage to Charge over the
parliamentary resolution and pledged full GOJ support for the
OCV program in Jordan. They stated that Parliament had no
authority to intervene on this issue and promised that
Interior Minister Habashneh would mount a vigorous rebuttal
at Parliament's next session on January 10.


5. (C) At the same dinner, the King endorsed -- subject to
our views -- an off-the-cuff proposal by FM Mulki to explore
having IOM set up voting facilities on the Jordanian side of
the Iraq/Jordan border, and bringing Sunnis across to vote in
the safety of Jordan. Mulki said Jordan could waive
immigration formalities, relying on voter ID cards for
identification. Charge welcomed ideas to boost Sunni
participation, but cautioned that security risks involved in
transporting Iraqis to Jordan could be problematic.
Department guidance appreciated.


6. (U) Baghdad minimize considered.
HALE