Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
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05ANKARA377 | 2005-01-25 10:11:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Ankara |
1. (SBU) On Jan. 24, PolMilOff called on Gezim Kiseri (Deputy Head of Country) and Sandra Khadhouri (Country Chief of External Relations) of IOM-Turkey's Iraq Out-of-Country Voting (OCV) office. They reported that OCV registration in Turkey has been low: 3,764 as of Jan. 23 (2,730 in Istanbul, 1,034 in Ankara). With only Jan. 24-25 left to go in the (extended) registration process, it appears IOM will fall short of its initial estimate of 10,000-30,000 eligible voters in Turkey. They believe part of the low turnout may be explained by the fact that the GOT insisted that Iraqi voters be able to show that they have some legal status (even if only a valid visitor visa) in Turkey. 2. (C) Kiseri and Khadhouri said that negotiations with the GOT to establish the modalities for Iraq OCV in Turkey were "difficult." IOM and the GOT only reached agreement on Jan. 4, later than most or perhaps all other countries. Since then, however, the IOM officials characterized Turkish cooperation as very good. Turkish police will provide security at polling sites (two in Istanbul, one in Ankara), but they will not have the authority to examine voting documents, nor can they enter the polling station unless requested by IOM. All poll workers will be Iraqis. 3. (C) PolMilOff asked if the GOT had approached IOM regarding the presence on the Iraqi ballot of two parties the Turks claim are PKK/Kongra-Gel fronts (see reftel). Kiseri responded that the Turkish ambassador in Geneva had approached IOM HQ regarding this issue on a worldwide basis, and that HQ had told the Turks that it was bound to use the ballot it was provided by the IECI. 4. (SBU) Kiseri and Khadhouri handed us a list showing the status of all OCV registrations worldwide as of Jan. 23: Australia 10,095 Canada 9,481 Denmark 12,243 France 958 Germany 23,533 Iran 48,010 Jordan 14,573 Netherlands 14,220 Sweden 27,862 Syria 12,665 Turkey 3,764 UAE 10,069 UK 27,839 USA 22,392 TOTAL 237,704 5. (SBU) A number of Embassy Ankara and AmConGen Istanbul personnel will serve as observers for Turkey OCV. 6. (U) Embassy Baghdad and Iraq REOs minimize considered. EDELMAN |