VOTE ON ELECTION COMMISSION LAW POSTPONED UNTIL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002750 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/01/2016 TAGS: PGOV PNAT KDEM SUBJECT: VOTE ON ELECTION COMMISSION LAW POSTPONED UNTIL AFTER COR RECESS; 60-DAY CARETAKER MANDATE APPROVED REF: BAGHDAD 2609 Classified By: Political Counselor Margaret Scobey for reasons 1.4 b/d ¶1. (C) Summary: On July 30, the Council of Representatives (CoR) legislative term concluded with a decision to postpone a vote on Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) law until after the August recess. According to contacts on the CoR legal committee, it appears that a inter-committee miscommunication and disagreements resulted in the presentation of a version of the law that had not been cleared with Kurdistan Alliance (KAL) members. The July 26 CoR decision to extend the current caretaker status of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) for an additional 60 days has given the CoR some breathing room to continue consultations on the law. End Summary. -------------- IHEC CARETAKER MANDATE EXTENDED -------------- ¶2. (C) On July 26, the Council of Representatives (CoR) continued debate on proposed legislation to permanently establish the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC). Note: This bill was originally introduced on the CoR floor July 16; the second reading and debate began on July 25 (reftel) End Note. Deputy Speaker Khalid Attya opened the July 26 session by moving to vote on extending the current IECI until a new law could be passed. He noted that the number of amendments proposed the day before presented the possibility that the law might not be passed prior to the CoR recess. Just in case, he stated, the CoR should act to make some provision for the IECI,s day-to-day administrative functioning. ¶3. (C) Attiya,s suggestion was vigorously opposed by some members of the legal committee, such as Tawafuq member and deputy chair of the Legal Committee Salim Jabbouri and Fadheela Party legal committee member Hassan Al Shammeri, who argued that the legislation had been delayed long enough. The current disarray in which the IECI found itself, Jabbouri added, including the arrest of IECI chief electoral officer Adil al Lami on charges of corruption, demanded CoR action. Separately, another Itilaf legal committee member who supported pushing through the IHEC legislation told emboffs she was concerned about provincial governments eventually taking matters into their own hands and establishing local election regulations that might conflict with subsequent CoR legislation. ¶4. (C) Others pointed out that a caretaker mandate was acceptable, if it stipulated a set time limit. Given that the election committee legislation was fundamental to the Iraqi democratic process, SCIRI member Rida Jawad Taqqi argued, it would be necessary for the CoR to take its time with it so that all sides would be satisfied with the outcome of the law. The CoR subsequently passed a resolution to extend the IECI,s mandate an additional 60 days. The resolution, passed by a majority of two votes, allows the IECI to continue functioning until early September, or until the CoR votes on the election commission legislation upon its return from recess. -------------- INTERNAL DISAGREEMENTS ON IECI LEGISLATION -------------- ¶5. (C) Intense debate began on the IHEC law when, after the July 25 second reading, KAL member Mahmoud Outhman requested that the CoR postpone the vote until after the recess. In response, Tawafuq and UIC members chided their KAL colleagues on the CoR floor for their surprise opposition to the IHEC bill. KAL subsequently produced a lengthy list of amendments to the law, which include distributing the IHEC,s committees on a Federal, Regional, and governorate level, and granting, &technical, administrative, and financial8 powers to regions and governorates. From poloffs, conversations with legal committee contacts and KAL members, however, it appears that the KAL members of the legal committee made their proposed amendments to the IHEC law known in advance to the legal committee. Most KAL Legal Committee members subsequently left Baghdad to participate in an NDI-sponsored legal training in Amman. While they gave the Legal Committee the green light to continue work in their absence, they were surprised when, upon the reading of the law on the CoR floor, there was no mention of KAL-suggested amendments to the original bill. ¶6. (C) ADDITIONAL AREAS OF CONCERN: A number of CoR members requested clarification in Article 3 of the IHEC law, which deals with the Commission,s structure and the mechanism for BAGHDAD 00002750 002 OF 002 nominating members. Hameed Majeed Moussa from the Iraqia List argued that the heads of political blocs should have a greater role in the nomination process. KAL member Mahmoud Outhman requested that the law outline more clearly supervisory powers that the CoR would have over the Commission; his request was seconded by others. Other concerns with the law brought up on the CoR floor included an objection to the stipulation that a specific percentage of commission members be women. Note: The provision was inserted in response to a petition signed by forty-two female CoR members demanding that this provision be included in the law. End Note. ¶7. (C)Comment: The importance of providing for the Commission,s independence in the law, an issue Emboffs repeatedly raised with the Legal Committee, was not emphasized by CoR members during their discussions. Rather, it appeared to Emboffs observing the session that CoR members expressed concerned with the organization,s structure and member nomination mechanisms with a view toward ensuring that no political bloc would have disproportionate control over IHEC operations. As the legal committee works on a revised draft, Emboffs will continue to engage CoR members on IHEC independence. End Comment. SCOBEY