PROGRESS OF ELECTORAL COMMISSION LEGISLATION ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 002609 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/17/2016 TAGS: IZ KDEM PGOV PNAT PREL SUBJECT: PROGRESS OF ELECTORAL COMMISSION LEGISLATION ON THE COUNCIL FLOOR REF: BAGHDAD 2512 Classified By: Classified by Political Counselor Margaret Scobey for re asons 1.4 (b) and (d). 1.(C) On July 15, the Council of Representatives (CoR) introduced legislation to permanently establish the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) (REFTEL). A scheduled second reading did not occur on July 17 due to Sadrist and Fadhila walkouts over the violence in Mahmoudiya (SEPTEL). The next opportunity for the second reading is July 25, when the CoR is scheduled to return from its week-long recess. 2.(C) The legislation is modeled after CPA Order No. 92, the law which established the current Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI). The proposed new law establishes an IHEC maintaining the same basic structure (a Board of Commissioners overseeing an electoral administration) and authorities as the IECI. The new law contains provisions to select and replace election commissioners and clearly places the Board of Commissioners in authority over the Chief Electoral Officer, resolving a source of conflict in the current IECI. The draft law also contains provisions stating that the CoR will &supervise8 the IHEC and giving it authority to remove one or all of the Commissioners with a simple majority floor vote. ¶3. (C) On July 16, EmbOffs met with Saleem al-Jeboori, Deputy Chair of the Legal Committee, to discuss the proposed IHEC legislation and express concern that the CoR oversight provisions could weaken the independence of the IEHC. Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) Ashraf Qazi separately approached both the Legal Committee and the CoR Speaker Mahmoud Mashadani with the same concern. ¶4. (C) A new draft prepared subsequently by the Legal Committee reflected some of the changes discussed. The new draft contained language which better defined election commissioner qualifications, the process to select new commissioners, and the transition of the administration staff from the IECI to the IHEC. The second draft did not, however, address concerns regarding the CoR-IEHC relationship. ¶5. (C) COMMENT: Post expects the second reading of the IHEC draft law to be among the first agenda items the CoR considers upon its return on July 25. Additional changes to the draft are likely as the CoR debates the law. Post will continue to monitor progress on this important legislation and engage the Legal Committee and key floor leadership as the law moves forward. KHALILZAD