REFERENDUM PREPARATIONS ON TRACK, IECI TO VISIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 003942 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/23/2015 TAGS: PGOV PHUM EAID KDEM IZ SUBJECT: REFERENDUM PREPARATIONS ON TRACK, IECI TO VISIT DISGRUNTLED SUNNI ARAB CITIES REF: A. A) BAGHDAD 2644 ¶B. B) BAGHDAD 3088 ¶C. C) BAGHDAD 3869 ¶D. D) LAPENN/NEA-I EMAIL 9/16/05 ¶E. E) BAGHDAD 3648 Classified By: Robert Ford reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) chairman Izadin Shufig and commissioner Safwat Sidqi told PolOff on September 20 that preparations for the October 15 referendum are on track. With respect to the registration period for political entities, IECI is likely to extend the current registration period deadline beyond September 30 to allow parties more time to coalesce and register as coalition entities. On September 22, EU representative Anna Gallo confirmed to PolOff that the EU plans initially to add Euro 50 million (approximately USD 61 million) to the UN funding for the election commission for a logistical contract once IECI produces a detailed budget (expected next week. To build trust between deeply suspicious Sunni Arab leaders and the IECI, and to pre-empt Sunni cries of unfair treatment by IECI, Embassy is organizing, in cooperation with MNF-I, REOs and SETs, a five city IECI elections outreach program to Sunni areas: Fallujah (9/26),Kirkuk (9/29),Mosul (10/3),Tikrit (10/6) and Baqubah (10/10). END SUMMARY. -------------- REFERENDUM ON TRACK -------------- ¶2. (C) IECI commissioner chairman Izadin Shufig and commissioner Safwat Sidqi told PolOff on September 20 that preparations for the October 15 referendum are on track. While underscoring the uncertainty of the security situation in some areas, several international electoral experts agreed with the commissioners' assessment that referendum preparations are well underway. -------------- ELECTORAL TIMELINE -------------- ¶3. (C) IECI still has not published an official December 2005 electoral timeline, but several IECI international electoral experts estimate the following schedule: Political Entity Registration -------------- 1 Sep Start period for registration of political entities 25 Sep End registrations for political entities at governorate offices 30 Sep End registrations for political entities at Baghdad IECI HQ (Note: IECI is likely to extend the current period deadline for political entities to register beyond September 30 to allow parties more time to coalesce and register as coalition entities for the December 2005 election. End note.) October 15 Referendum -------------- 3rd week Sep Start delivery of referendum ballots and material to governorate hub warehouses 13 Oct Polling centers pickup material from hubs 15 Oct REFERENDUM DAY 3rd week Oct Challenges and complaints period Certification of results December 15 National Election -------------- 4th week Sep Start candidate list submission period 3rd week Oct End candidate list submission period at IECI governorate offices 4th week Oct End candidate list submission period at Baghdad IECI HQ 2nd week Nov Start printing election ballot paper 3rd week Nov Start delivery of election ballots and material to governorate hub warehouses 13 Dec Polling centers pickup material from hubs 15 Dec ELECTION DAY 3rd week Dec Challenges and complaints period Certification of results (Note: Referendum law (Article 1) determines the polling day for the referendum by stating, "The referendum process on the project of constitution starts on Saturday Oct 15, 2005..." (reftel B). With respect to the campaign period for elections, Article 20 of the elections law states, "any candidate may conduct the campaign on the date of the beginning of his nomination and continue to the day immediately preceding the date designated for holding the election." End Note.) -------------- ELECTORAL PREPARATIONS -------------- ¶4. (C) Parallel preparations for the October referendum and December election are on-going. - Polling Center Locations. Polling sites have been identified in all governorates except Al-Anbar. - Staff Training. IECI has started referendum training workshops for governorate and select district-level trainers in Baghdad. By October 2, IECI expects to have 775 qualified trainers who will train polling center election workers nationwide. - Logistics. A logistics contract valued at USD 60 million was signed this week UN/OPS in Amman for the secure delivery and storage of electoral materials (for both the referendum and election) at governorate hub warehouses. - IECI Budget. IECI has begun to prepare a detailed budget with the assistance of a newly arrived international financial expert. (Comment. A detailed budget was requested months ago by the Ministry of Finance as well as donor nations eager to contribute to the UN electoral cluster funding mechanism. On September 17, Charge emphasized to visiting UN Electoral Assistance Division (EAD) chief Carina Pirelli the urgent need for a detailed IECI budget. (reftel C) End Comment.) IECI appears to have sufficient funding to hold the referendum; currently, IECI has an account balance of USD 66 million. The USD 60 million logistics contract just awarded by UN/OPS Amman will be funded separately using the UN electoral cluster funding mechanism. Although the UN cluster currently has a balance of only USD 26 million (reftel A),UN/OPS has awarded the USD 60 million logistics contract with the understanding that the EU would transfer needed money to fill the funding gap (reftel C). - Budget Continued. On September 22, EU representative Anna Gallo confirmed to Poloff that the EU plans initially to add Euro 50 million (approximately USD 61 million) to the UN electoral cluster. She said that the absence of a detailed IECI budget does not help the EU project to replenish the cluster speedily, and speculated that once the budget is ready, the transfer will require several weeks to take place. - International Staffing. The UN has decided to extend EAD chief Pirelli's stay to Baghdad until October 15. (NOTE: Assuming the permanent international IECI commissioner is not in place by then, and Pirelli departs in October, a senior-level UN replacement will be needed on the ground through December 15 elections.) Jeff Fisher has been named the new IFES Baghdad chief of party for elections, and is expected to arrive Baghdad the first week of October. UN electoral team chief David Avery said he expected five more UN elections experts to arrive Baghdad by next week. - Regulations. IECI has posted seven new IECI regulations related to the referendum on its website, www.ieciraq.org. Based on the final version of the election law, IECI has drafted the regulation on submission of political entity lists and is waiting for formal Board approval. -------------- ELECTORAL OUTREACH TO SUNNI AREAS -------------- ¶5. (C) To build trust between deeply suspicious Sunni leaders and the IECI, and to pre-empt Sunni cries of unfair treatment by the IECI, Embassy is organizing, in cooperation with MNF-I, REOS and SETS, a five-city IECI elections outreach program to Sunni areas modeled on a similar trip to Ramadi on August 30 (reftel E). The intended dates and locations are: 9/26 Fallujah 9/29 Kirkuk 10/3 Mosul 10/6 Tikrit 10/10 Baqubah The delegation, comprised of an IECI commissioner, IECI chief electoral officer, UN/IFES international electoral expert, USAID officer, and PolOffs, will meet with local Sunni leaders. IECI commissioners welcomed the new Embassy initiative and agreed with PolOff that IECI Sunni outreach is essential to the credibility of the electoral process. Khalilzad