ELECTIONS - AROUND IRAQ BIG TURNOUT, LIMITED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 005019 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/15/2015 TAGS: KDEM KISL PGOV PINR PINS IZ SUBJECT: ELECTIONS - AROUND IRAQ BIG TURNOUT, LIMITED VIOLENCE AND CLAIMS OF IRREGULARITIES REF: BAGHDAD 5010 Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) Summary and Comment: Here follows a review, as of 18:00, of today's events in various parts of Iraq. PRTs and SETs will submit individual analyses as well. Overall, turnout was high across Iraq, including in troubled Anbar province in the West. The election commission extended official polling station hours nationally to give more people time to vote. Violence throughout Iraq was limited. Political parties had election observers out in force and have collected many allegations of irregularities. None of the allegations are particularly striking for a new democratic system, but they will take time for the election commission to sort through. End Summary and Comment. -------------- Anbar Province -------------- ¶2. (C) Voter turnout across Anbar Province was relatively high. Marines at Ramadi checkpoints, for example, could hear calls this morning from the al Masjid Kadi Mosque and the al Nora Mosque urging people to vote. PolOffs in Ramadi and Fallujah reported that people wore their fine clothes in a festive atmosphere as they made their way to the polling sites. Fallujah leaders called today an "Election Wedding in the city." However, voter turnout was low in a few areas such as Hit, where insurgency presence continues to intimidate voters. ¶3. (C) There were no major security incidents in all of Anbar Province - a notable achievement. The Iraqi Police did very well. In Fallujah, the security plan - local security forces at the polling stations with Iraqi Police at an outer perimeter and Coalition Forces out of sight and available only in an emergency - was successful again, as it was during the October referendum. In Ramadi, there were no violent attacks other than one mortar round at 0700 local time with no injuries. In western Anbar, a local military unit reported 10 mortar rounds in the vicinity of the Baghdadi polling site. Voting operations were not affected and the reported 500 voters in line remained in place. No injuries or damages were reported. ¶4. (C) There was one confirmed report of ballot tampering by two local IECI officials at an Iraqi Special Force (ISF) base outside Ramadi on December 14. ISF personnel found 
two IECI officials filling out ballots. The ISF informed Coalition Force and IECI officials. The IECI officials were apprehended by the ISF. (Note: The local IECI officials were likely Sunni Arabs, and the ISF troops who turned them in were likely Shia.) ¶5. (C) Reports of ballot shortages in Fallujah were exaggerated, according to the SET. The issue was a shortage of ballot boxes rather than ballots. IECI headquarters agreed to allow 1,200 ballots in boxes- above usual 600. Local leaders sent an alarmist message that thousands of Fallujans could not vote. IECI/UN advisor Mark Strong reported to Poloff that all issues related to the ballot box problem were adequately resolved. (The IECI also extended voting hours nationally to 18:00 local, vice 17:00, in order to give polling stations more time.) -------------- Kirkuk -------------- ¶6. (C) Voter turnout at 1700 in Kirkuk Province is estimated to be high. In all polling stations visited there was a steady flow of voters. The lines were manageable and no one complained of an extensive wait time. Some voters, although not in large numbers, were turned away from the polling centers because their names did not appear on either the corrected voter list or the supplemental list. The atmosphere at all visited polling centers was festive and light-hearted. Security was good with no reported incidents. ¶7. (C) There were charges of voters using forged documents although when questioned for specifics, the observers usually backed down from their original estimation to a much lesser number. One NGO observer reported and it was confirmed by the polling center manager that six individuals had been caught trying to wipe the ink from their finger and re-vote. Others reported that some had voted two or three times and that underage youth had been allowed to vote. It was confirmed at one center that some youth had tried to vote, were caught, and expelled from the center. ¶8. (C) In an emergency meeting December 15 of Baghdad IECI Commissioner Adil Al-Lami and Kirkuk IECI officials (with transport provided quickly by MNF-I),a solution was agreed to by all in the early afternoon that allowed voters at nine identified polling centers to vote if they presented their ration card proving residency and normal identification required of other voters. Political parties were responsible for spreading the news to their constituents which included Kurds, Turcomans, and Arabs. -------------- Mosul -------------- ¶9. (C) Although far from perfect, in Ninewa the election went reasonably well. The worst case scenarios - a meltdown of the complicated voting system or open clashes between Arabs and Kurds - did not happen. Voter turnout appeared to be good and it appears that the bulk of the people who wanted to vote were able to do so. Voting sites were open, sufficient ballots were in place at most sites, and security arrangements came together as planned. There were some incidents of violence - an IED killed one in Mosul, two mortar attacks in Tal Afar killed two and injured several, an RPG was fired at a polling site but caused no injuries, a grenade exploded in southern Ninewa with no casualties - but there was nothing approaching a major incident causing great loss of life. The atmosphere varied but in many places REO Mosul visited it was festive, particularly in the morning. On-site inspections conducted by PRT staff gave us a generally positive impression of the process, both in terms of public participation and election preparations. ¶10. (C) On the other hand, complaints by Kurds, Arabs and minorities against each other were more heated than in October. At one point, it appeared that Kurds were on the verge of actually occupying a polling site. In particular, the Kurds were incensed over the failure of the IECI to provide special measures to allow displaced Kurdish voters to cast ballots. ¶11. (C) Furthermore, they claimed that IECI staff were biased against Kurds. Some Arabs countered that the IECI had intentionally set up the system in order to disenfranchise Sunni voters. One thing that is clear is that the complicated voting procedure did result in many people being turned away, unable to cast ballots. Until the national IECI decided to relax the rules at midday, some percentage of the voters left empty handed. Nonetheless, the bottom line is that most of the people in Ninewa were given the opportunity to vote and a large percentage of them did so. -------------- Kurdistan Regional Government -------------- ¶12. (C) Turnout in Sulaymaniyah appeared to be noticeably higher than for the referendum. They also experienced the problem, although to a lesser degree, of missing voter names on the registered list. Many vehicles were on the road without stickers, a violation of the vehicular curfew. ¶13. (C) Incidents of IECI officials "helping" individuals to vote was reported by an NGO observer and personally witnessed in one polling center by the Deputy British Consul General. The IECI official went behind the voting area, marked the ballot, handed it back to the voter and then escorted him to the ballot box and ink well. ¶14. (C) Turnout in Erbil was light earlier in the day but picked up later. Peak hours appeared to have been from 1100 hours to 1500 hours. Wait times to vote were reported to be as long as 30 minutes towards the end of this period. No such lines were visible earlier in the day. Missing names on the voter rolls was also a problem in Erbil. A couple of centers said they had turned away hundreds of people who were not registered. Security at most polling centers was very tight with even our PolOffs and the British Consul General reporting undergoing a body search upon entrac. Alhough ecurity was tight, it was not overly aggressive and no reported sightings of KDP security or Peshmerga forces around the centers. Many political party and independent observers were at the polling centers. There was no indication of any political party campaigning or posters. Only IECI posters explaining the electoral process were in evidence. No problems were reported with the voting process. -------------- South Central -------------- ¶15. (C) REO Hilla reported that the overall outcome in South Central was positive. Some voters in Karbala dressed up to celebrate the occasion. Voters were carrying pictures of Sistani and some youth were chanting in support of 555. One unconfirmed report claims early exit polling in Karbala indicates 95 percent support for 555. Turnout in Najaf was also strong, with reports of widespread support for 555. The security situation remained stable throughout the day. -------------- Southern Iraq -------------- ¶16. (C) REO Basrah confirmed large turnouts throughout Maysan, Dhi Qar, Al-Basra and Al-Muthanna. REO Basrah estimates that 60-75 percent of the voters in many of the polling centers were women. The South remained calm throughout the day despite lingering anger in the region over the 14 December al-Jazeera broadcast deemed critical of the marjai'ya (ref). The atmosphere was celebratory, with voters turning out in their "Eid" clothes. Assistance was provided by the police and members of the public to enable elderly and handicapped voters at Um Qasr and other polling centers in the Basrah area to participate in the election. There was a strong police presence in Basrah city. There were few lines in Dhi Qar; lines in al- Muthanna, Maysan, and al-Basrah moved briskly. In Maysan, mosques urged people to vote without pointing them to a particular party. Most voters who were willing to speak to REO Basrah FSNs reported voting for 555, with a few reporting voting for 731. ¶17. (C) Although the result was positive overall, there were reports of a few problems. In Maysan, groups of protesters gathered near polling stations chanting in favor of UIA (List555) and against Al Jazeera, but they did not block voter access. The Al Hurra news channel in Maysan reported Iraqi police trucks with loud speakers were urging people to voter for Sistani and List 555. A local NGO reported similar activity in Basrah. A Danish NGO observer in Basrah reported inappropriate campaign activity on behalf of the UIA (List555) at several polling stations. The deputy director of Al Manarah Newspaper reported that small groups of Fadilla party supporters carrying posters of Sistani and Yacoubi were marching around and entering polling stations in Basrah. A Basrah poloff observed "family voting" (male head of household voting on behalf of his family) at one polling station, an activity ignored by the manager of that polling station. Al Hurra TV reported that 400 employees in the North Alrymella oil field were still waiting for IECI Baghdad permission to vote as of 1645 (Basrah). KHALILZAD