BABIL ELECTION SECURITY TIGHTER THAN A CHAMPAIGN CORK

C O N F I D E N T I A L HILLAH 000371 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/13/2015 TAGS: PGOV KDEM IZ SUBJECT: BABIL ELECTION SECURITY TIGHTER THAN A CHAMPAIGN CORK CLASSIFIED BY: ALFRED FONTENEAU, REGIONAL COORDINATOR, REO, AL-HILLAH, STATE. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In a recent pre-election security meeting hosted by REO Al-Hillah and attended by the local Coalition Forces commander, Iraqi officials and a United Nations election observer put the finishing touches on a three ringed security plan for Babil Province. The Babil representative for the Independent Election Commission of Iraq (IECI) laid out his plan for holding national elections in Babil Province on 15 December while the Iraqi and coalition security forces presented their plans for protecting the population. Provisions were made for Iraqi security forces to vote and health officials are ready with 32 mobile casualty treatment centers. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) The security plan, basically the same used for the January elections and October referendum, called for security forces to be in three rings around polling centers with the coalition forces forming the outer ring, the Iraqi Army (IA) forming the middle ring, and the Iraqi Police (IP) protecting individual polling sites. All security force commanders and the IECI representative said they had all the material and men necessary for a successful and safe election. The Commanding General of the 155 Brigade Combat Team, said about 9,000 Iraqi men, consisting of about 6,200 IP, three battalions with 800 IA soldiers in each, and several hundred more IA soldiers will be deployed alongside the Polish, American, and El Salvadoran soldiers in an integrated plan of road blocks, radio dispatched patrol vehicles, and layered polling site defenses to protect the voters of Babil Province during the national elections. ¶3. (C) Assad Ramadan, Babil director of IECI agreed to coordinate with the IA to provide separate polling sites for IA security forces to vote on 12 December, along with citizens in jails and hospitals, while IP forces would vote on 15 December in the polling sites they protect. He stated the same polling sites used in the October referendum would be used in December's election, each registration center being responsible for five or six polling sites and using international voting regulations to ensure multiple voting irregularities do not take place. Assad reported that although the IP will take over protection of the polling sites on 10 December, he could not require IECI employees to spend the night in dangerous sites, such as found in North Babil. ¶4. (C) Babil IP Chief, Brigadier Gerneral Qais Hamza Aboud, reported curfew requirements from Baghdad, and identification methods for security forces and emergency vehicles, while representatives from Babil hospitals reported on preparations for mass casualty contingencies, including 32 mobile medical units, all Al-Hillah hospitals, and 45 ambulances. The 155th Brigade Commander said he was willing to ask for military assistance in case of any casualties beyond the capabilities of the local medical infrastructure. ¶5. (C) The plan is virtually identical to the election security plan in the two previous elections and all of the main players remain in place. The two previous elections passed largely without incident and the preparations in place currently should ensure similar results on December 15. FONTENEAU