IECI POSTS COMPLETE CANDIDATE LISTS WITHOUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 004870 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/06/2015 TAGS: PGOV KDEM IZ SUBJECT: IECI POSTS COMPLETE CANDIDATE LISTS WITHOUT REMOVING DE-BA'ATH NAMES; RESERVES RIGHT TO DISQUALIFY LATER REF: A. BAGHDAD 4857 (AND PREVIOUS) ¶B. BAGHDAD 4626 Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The IECI posted complete candidate lists the evening of December 6 after Commissioners reportedly failed to reach consensus on whether to strike any of the names identified by the de-Ba'athification Commission (DBC). According to International Commissioner Jenness, no names have been removed in response to the DBC list of 181 candidates (excluding approximately 40 whose candidacies were withdrawn by either themselves or their parties). Jenness noted that the IECI reserved the right to disqualify candidates even after publishing candidate lists. However, he told us in a subsequent phone call that the posting of the lists would make it technically much harder for the IECI to remove candidates prior to the December 15 election. As such removal is nonetheless still possible, we will continue to follow-up with the IECI on this issue. END SUMMARY ¶2. (C) As reported ref A, Emboffs have continued to meet on a daily basis with IECI International Commissioner Jenness and his Iraqi colleagues to reaffirm our concerns over politicized, non-transparent use of the de-Ba'athification process during the election season. We have noted the weak evidentiary standard reflected in the list of names sent by the DBC to the IECI. We have also pointed to the inconsistency between the IECI's readiness to consider disqualifying candidates identified as Ba'athists without supporting evidence, with the IECI's reluctance to take action against parties/candidates linked to armed groups -- or in the case of one party, terrorist organizations (ref B). We have cautioned that the IECI's current approach could undermine its credibility, especially among Sunnis Arabs. ¶3. (C) On December 4, US and UK Embassy emboffs met again with Jenness to reiterate concerns about the opaqueness of IECI proceedings on de-Ba'athification as well as the double-standard the IECI was creating by not investigating other candidate criteria, namely links to armed militias. Pol and Legoffs also argued that the paucity of evidence before the IECI, coupled with the short period of time before the elections, made it more likely that the IECI could mistakenly disqualify candidates, possibly causing them irreparable harm by depriving them of the right to run in these elections. Emboffs reaffirmed that disqualifying candidates without a credible and transparent process could undermine the credibility of both the IECI and the election outcome. Jenness noted that the IECI Commissioners had still not decided formally whether or not to disqualify candidates, especially with regard to those who had not responded formally in writing. Poloffs urged Jenness to find a resolution which did not include improper removal of candidate names. ¶4. (C) The evening of December 5, Jenness told poloff that the Commission had moved to post the complete candidate lists for the election. Jenness said the Commission reserved the right to disqualify candidates at a later date. ¶5. (C) COMMENT: In a subsequent telephone conversation with poloff, Jenness acknowledged that the publication of the lists would make it technically much harder to remove names on de-Ba'ath grounds. He said this increased the likelihood of no pre-election removal of names. However, the IECI clearly feels political pressure on this issue and we cannot rule out a last minute effort to remove at least some of the DBC-identified names from candidate lists. We will continue to emphasize to Jenness and other IECI contacts that such a move would threaten to undermine the electoral commission's credibility as an unbiased institution. We will continue to work to ensure there are no improper removal of names from the now publicly posted candidate lists. KHALILZAD