DIWANIYAH IECI HEAD PREPARED FOR FRAUD ACCUSATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L HILLAH 000367

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/12/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL IZ PDEM
SUBJECT: DIWANIYAH IECI HEAD PREPARED FOR FRAUD ACCUSATIONS

REF: HILLAH 0361

CLASSIFIED BY: ALFRED FONTENEAU, REGIONAL COORDINATOR, REO,
AL-HILLAH, STATE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C) Summary: Diwaniyah Independent Electoral Commission of
Iraq Head Saad Madhloom told REO Al-Hillah staff in a December 7
meeting that he was staffing provincial polling sites to prepare
for allegations of fraud from partisans of Iyad Allawi's
National Iraqi List (ballot number 731.) Madhloom said that all
of his administrative and logistical preparations for the
December 15 election were complete, but reported that the
intensity of the current campaign, in which tearing down posters
had become "natural in every province," could dangerously
escalate sectarian tensions. End summary.


2. (C) Madhloom, a highly respected election official often sent
to other provinces to troubleshoot their election procedures,
said that the current election was a "critical situation." The
existence in Diwaniyah of 68 coalitions running 375 candidates,
Madhloom related, meant that guaranteeing a free and fair
election was profoundly difficult. Each coalition has the right
to place an observer in each polling station, Madhloom reported,
meaning that with election workers and others, as many as 100
Iraqis could be inside a polling station at a given time, not
counting voters. "The fact is we can't prevent [the presence of
the observers,]" Madhloom related. "At the same time we expect
that this will cause many troubles."


3. (C) Of particular concern, according to Madhloom, were
reports that Allawi partisans would attempt to entrap IECI
workers in fraud. He said that he had heard that 731 voters
would enter polling stations claiming to be illiterate, and ask
the worker to help them vote for the Allawi list. When the IECI
representative surreptitiously marked a vote for the rival
United Iraqi Alliance (UIA, ballot number 555),the Allawi voter
would cry foul. Another version would have the partisan simply
asking the IECI worker to check the 555 box, and then crying
foul, the partisan claiming that he had wanted to vote 731.
Madhloom said that to counter this eventuality, he was assigning
three workers at each ballot box to witness votes cast by
illiterate voters.


4. (C) In spite of his concerns, Madhloom reported that he was
prepared for the elections in every possible way. The security
plan was in place, he reported, and he predicted a safe and
secure election, although he did repeat a familiar complaint
that the local security forces had appropriated many of his
"T-wall" and "jersey" barriers, barbed wire, and other
protective equipment. He said that his staff had prepared their
own updated alphabetical voter registration lists, in response
to widespread problems caused by unalphabetized lists in the
October 15 referendum. And he offered that newly-registered
voters would be permitted to visit their polling sites for three
days prior to the vote to insure that they were registered. This
step, which he said the Baghdad IECI had authorized, was
intended to eliminate any confusion and delays on polling day.


5. (C) Although he evinced satisfaction with his role in the
election preparation, Madhloom shared his grave concerns about
the conduct of the campaigns. There were "many unacceptable
actions," he related, citing the universal tearing down of rival
campaign posters. "This has become a natural thing in every
province," he maintained. Madhloom also mentioned the shooting
of an Allawi worker hanging posters and a grenade attack on
another Allawi office, both in the West Diwaniyah town of
Shamiya (reftel.) Madhloom lamented the harsh sectarian tone of
campaigns nationwide, and described pro-Sunni literature calling
the Shi'a "Iranians" and pro-Shi'a pamphlets branding the Sunni
"Wahabbis." "It's turned into a sectarian war," he observed.
FONTENEAU