UPDATE ON CONVENING OF COUNCIL OF REPRESENTATIVES

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000725 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2016 TAGS: PGOV PTER PINS PINR PREL IZ SUBJECT: UPDATE ON CONVENING OF COUNCIL OF REPRESENTATIVES Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) President Talabani convened a meeting of political party leaders March 7 to break the standoff over when to hold the first session of the Council of Representatives. That meeting was still in session at 1530 hrs local time. ¶2. (C) TNA Speaker Dr. Hajim al-Hasani (as he was heading for the meeting) and SCIRI Chief of Staff Haitham al- Husseini expressed confidence to PolOff that Talabani's meeting would ultimately produce agreement to hold the first session of the Council of the Representatives (CoR) as announced on March 12. They indicated that the compromise would be to make the March 12 meeting entirely ceremonial. It would adjourn without formally ending this first session. This will allow the CoR members to remain within the spirit of the Constitution, which calls for the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speakers during the first session, but delay the selection until government formation negotiations are completed. Dr. Hasani said that Dawa and the Sadrists (i.e. Jafari's supporters) were the primary forces behind the call to delay the session. ¶3. (SBU) Al-Hassani broke out of the Talabani meeting midday to hold a press conference at which he said he would make an announcement on March 9 as to the date of the first session of the CoR. He said that dialogue between the political parties will continue before and after the first session and that they want to follow the constitution and its deadlines. Separately, Dawa CoR member Ali Adeeb told PolFSN March 7 that he thinks the first session will be delayed. Independent Sadrist CoR memeber Sami al-Askari told PolOffs the same thing March ¶7. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: With the meeting still underway, we are not in a position to predict whether Talabani can succeed in bringing the CoR into session on March 12. We will seek an early readout of today's meeting once it concludes. KHALILZAD