ANBAR: GOVERNOR FRUSTRATED BY LACK OF ELECTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 004182

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/03/2015
TAGS: PGOV PINS KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: ANBAR: GOVERNOR FRUSTRATED BY LACK OF ELECTION
PREPARATIONS; INTERPRETS IECI "NEGLECT" AS DELIBERATE
EFFORT TO SUPPRESS SUNNI VOTE

Classified By: Robert S. Ford, Political Counselor for
reasons 1.4 (b),(d).


1. (C) Summary. In October 2 meeting with Second Marine
Division ADC and Poloff, Anbar Governor Mamoon expressed his
disappointment in the lack of follow-through by Election
Commissioners after their August 30 outreach visit. He said
that if his demands for confirmation of designated polling
locations, details regarding polling staff movements and
training as well as permission to allow same day registration
were not met, he would reveal to the Arab media a deliberate
attempt to suppress the Sunni vote. The Governor alleged
that the Independent Elections Commission of Iraq (IECI) was
complicit in a plot to suppress Sunni voter turnout. PolOff
argued that the IECI was an independent body, and its UN
advisors were technicians who sought the highest democratic
participation possible under difficult circumstances. End
Summary.


2. (C) Governor Mamoon Sami Latif al Rasheed expressed
increasing frustration with the preparations for referendum
elections in Anbar to the Second Marine Division ADC and
PolOff. Al Rasheed appeared clearly exasperated with what he
perceived to be the level (or lack thereof) of communication
from the IECI. In an IECI outreach session conducted August
30, Mamoon said he had made specific requests for IECI
decisions on matters such as an extension of the voter
registration period, exact locations of polling sites and the
workplan for fielding polling workers. Commissioner Izadin
al-Mohhmmady, who conducted the outreach, allegedly promised
the governor feedback on the decision of the entire
commission. To date, Mamoon reports there has been no
communication from the IECI.


3. (C) Governor Mamoon appeared satisfied with the decision
of the IECI to allow detainees to vote in Abu Ghraib and Buca
prisons, as conveyed by the ADC. Nonetheless, he bridled at
the delay by the IECI in confirming polling center locations
in Ramadi and western Anbar. He also sought clarification of
when and how polling workers would arrive in the province,
clearly preferring local citizens receive training to
administer the election. He stressed that &security is
good8 and that the governor should have a role in
designating polling sites near major population centers. He
endorsed the Second Marine Division to facilitate 29 polling
centers in the provincial capital, Ramadi, emphasizing the
necessity for the country to provide the opportunity for its
citizens to vote.


4. (C) The ADC informed the Governor of the next upcoming
IECI outreach program in Falluja on October 6, and offered to
facilitate his transportation to the event. The Governor
mused over the utility of continuing to press concerns vis a
vis the IECI at this forum, but with obviously rising
frustration, railed against the indignity of having to chase
down the commissioners for answers to his questions.
Breaking into English, he noted, "The time is very critical".
He claimed he would give the commission another week to
respond with concrete proposals regarding polling center
staff and locations, and if they did not respond, he would
address the satellite media.


5. (C) Mamoon charged that the IECI was driven by a
political agenda engineered by the Shia who, do not want the
constitutional referendum to fail. Mamoon claimed the
political milieu in Anbar had changed, that citizens of the
violent and economically disadvantaged province now sought to
engage in reconstruction and the political process. Mamoon
had also requested the IECI to permit voter registration and
voting in mosques. He appeared resigned to the IECI,s
refusal to allow religious sites for this purpose, but
clearly did not buy their argument. He also requested same
day registration for Anbar alone.


6. (C) Mamoon described the elections as two teams playing,
where the referee would be the ballots. He reiterated lack
of planning was due to a deliberate plot to suppress Sunni
turnout. PolOff argued the IECI was an independent body, and
its UN advisors were technicians who sought the highest
democratic participation possible in difficult circumstances.
Nonetheless, both PolOff and the ADC promised to pass his
concerns to commission staff. PolOff recommended Mamoon also
continue to press his concerns with Baghdad officials to
hasten election preparations in Anbar. The governor
concluded that given Iraqis, experience with past forms of
government, democracy was the only solution. He emphasized,
however, that the people must be confident in the results of
the ballot boxes.


7. (C) Comment: Unfortunately, the initially successful
outreach conducted by Commissioner Izadin set local
government officials expectations high. Pleased by the show
of interest from Baghdad, delays in supposedly promised
details have had the opposite effect. At present the
Governor (and Deputy Governor) are disillusioned with the
IECI and took the opportunity to attack the commission,s
planned outreach in Falluja (historically a rival of the much
larger provincial capital) as &a waste of time8. Mamoon
overestimates his role in the elections process, suggesting
he should designate polling centers in Anbar and promoting
the use of mosques for the vote. However, his role in urging
the battered and embittered population to vote remains
critical. The vote in the referendum in Anbar is likely to
be against the constitution, but the referendum has two other
important aspects. First, it will be a dry run for the
December 15 elections. It also will confirm that the
Transitional Iraqi Government was sincere in including all
those who want to participate in the political process. The
governor has questioned this sincerity.. He is concerned
that if the designated Limited polling sites, are not located
great near distances from pmajor population centers, the
referendum wwill stir a most likely backlash from the Anbar
electorate.the next administration. I'm confused - are there
limited polling sites far from population centers or is this
confirmation of the ITG's sincerity - which is it ??
Embassy Baghdad is working with the IECI and UN to ensure
Ma'mun's concerns are understood and that the IECI explains
to him what it is doing. End Comment.
Khalilzad