UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000713

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KDEM ASEC PREL PGOV IZ JO
SUBJECT: IRAQ OUT-OF-COUNTRY VOTING GOES SMOOTHLY IN JORDAN

REF: A. AMMAN 672


B. AMMAN 586

C. AMMAN 468

D. AMMAN 342

E. AMMAN 293


1. Out-of-country voting (OCV) in Jordan for the Iraq
elections concluded on schedule at 1700 January 30.
Official figures on total turnout will not be available
until January 31 at the earliest. However, the
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
organizers reported that 79 percent of those registered
had voted by the end of the second day of polling
January 29; we estimate January 30 voting will put the
final turnout figure at about 90 percent of the 20,000
Iraqis registered in Jordan.


2. Emboffs and FSNs visited eight of the fifteen
polling centers in Jordan, and were struck by the
good-humored atmosphere at all of them. There were no
security incidents. We heard of only three attempts
at fraud, each involving Iraqis who were caught
attempting to vote a second time despite the inking
of their fingers. Concrete expressions of happiness
and pride were evident: we witnessed many working
class voters (including some assisted illiterates)
beaming as they cast their ballots in one
poor neighborhood; a voting supervisor at another
location told us that the entire room was in tears
after the first voter deposited her ballot on Friday
morning. Embassy observers were impressed by the
professionalism of the IOM organizers and their staff.


3. The ethnic and religious makeup of those voting
appeared mixed; although the majority of Iraqis in
Jordan are probably Shia, we noted large numbers
of Sunni Arab and Christian voters as well, and most
poll workers we talked to (all Iraqis) believed
the turnout was balanced. In addition to Iraqis
resident in Jordan, several interlocutors told us
about relatives or friends who had come to
Jordan from Baghdad or elsewhere in Iraq in order
to register and vote in "safe" Jordan. We also
met some Iraqi-Israeli voters who told us that they
had used their Israeli passports as part
of the OCV registration process, without incident.

Iraqi Observer Comments
--------------


4. Political party observers from the so-called
Allawi and SISTANI lists were present at several
of the polling stations. An observer for Allawi's
list (which had observers at most stations),
stressed to us that he was a supporter of an
"independent" on the Allawi list, rather
than Allawi or his party per se. He and a
circle around him agreed that, as almost
all candidates really had the same goals --
security, stability, and prosperity -- most Iraqis
feel it's safer to vote through a party list for
a varied grouping of people who might restrain
each other than for a single individual who might
prove to be a loose cannon.


5. There was extensive international media
coverage of the OCV process in Jordan. Apart
from Arabic-language networks including al-Jazeera
and al-Arabiya, CNN, Japanese, British, and other
television media were present near the
voting centers. We also noted the presence
of NDI and EU observers.

Iraqi Police School Voting
--------------


6. In addition to the fourteen OCV polling centers
established for civilian Iraqis in Jordan, a
fifteenth station was set up outside Amman at the
Jordan International Police Training Center (JIPTC),
a State/INL program that trains cadets for the new
Iraqi security forces. These voters were
registered under a special regime, and IOM does not
treat them as a part of the 20,000 OCV voters
registered in Jordan. As of the afternoon of Sunday,
January 30, over 3,000 of a possible voting pool of
about 3,100 Iraqi police cadets had voted. As at
the other polling stations, the voting process at
the police school was professional, efficient, and
good-spirited. Despite the turnout, poll workers
told us that more than half of the cadets voting
on the first day expressed confusion as to what
the election was about and what the different
parties represented. However, there less confusion
on the successive two days, perhaps reflecting some
ad hoc voter self-education.


7. Ballot boxes are being sealed and removed under
guard to a central location in Amman, where vote
counting in the presence of outside observers will
begin at 0800 Monday, January 31. An Embassy Amman
observer will be present.


8. Baghdad minimize considered.
HALE