MODERATE ISLAMIST DEPLORES 555 INTIMIDATION;

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000776 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2026 TAGS: PGOV KDEM IZ SUBJECT: MODERATE ISLAMIST DEPLORES 555 INTIMIDATION; LOOKS AHEAD TO PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS Classified By: Pol Couns Robert Ford, reason 1.4 (d) ¶1. (C) National Iraqi List CoR member for Baghdad Izzat al-Shahbandar told Poloffs that Allawi's party was beginning to prepare for provincial elections. He said Allawi's list was planning steps to counter "forgery and intimidation," use local media, and set up effective get-out-the-vote programs. "Some of us reached the desperate point where we must have our own militias to defend ourselves," he said. The Shia Islamist Coalition (List 555) practices intimidation even on itself, he said, pointing to reports he claimed to have received from multiple, credible sources within the List 555 that the Sadrists had used intimidation against independent and even Fadhila Party backbenchers to get them to support Jafari. ¶2. (C) Shahbandar said the National Iraqi List wants provincial elections delayed until at least September to allow for enough time to prepare. He expressed concern that the party would not be ready in time without help. Shahbandar praised the National Iraqi List for accommodating moderate Islamists like himself -- he said Iraqiya had 5 Islamists out of 25 members in the Council of Representatives. He said that moderate Islamists deserved more USG support and that they represent the best defense against terrorism and terrorist ideologies. He compared USG programs to support democratic parties unfavorably to Iranian programs. "Iran spends money without filtration or processing or stages," he said, "whereas you have to have signatures, approvals, and if we have a conference, NDI will have us say how many chairs, how much food, and we have to return unused money afterwards." In contrast, Iran would have a religious leader deliver money to the party directly, and if it did a good job, it would get more. ¶3. (C) Shahbandar's Democratic Islamic Trend (also led by Muhammad Abd al-Jabbar, now publisher of the al-Sabah newspaper) was the first party listed on the ballot in the January 2005 election, but could raise only USD 50,000 to spend. Most of that money came as a loan from Ayad Allawi, Shahbandar said. They were offered two seats in the United Iraqi Coalition (UIC, list 169) slate in January 2005, but chose to test their support on their own, and got 16,000 votes. ¶4. (C) Comment: So far, we do not detect much sign that the Allawi-led collection of moderates and secular politicians has given much thought to, much less started planning for, provincial elections. These elections seem unlikely to take place before September, given the delays in standing up the national government. KHALILZAD