IECI COMMISIONER DEFENDS IRAQI ELECTION IN CAIRO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000953 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/22/2016 TAGS: PGOV PNAT KDEM IZ EG SUBJECT: IECI COMMISIONER DEFENDS IRAQI ELECTION IN CAIRO Classified By: Political Counselor Robert S. Ford for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Independent Electoral Commission (IECI) Chief Electoral Officer Adil Mohammed Alwan Al-Lami described to PolOff on March 19 his defense of the Iraqi elections as valid, fair and representative at a regional election workshop in Cairo on March 12-13. Speaking to skeptical workshop attendees, and in a live interview with Nile Television, Al-Lami claimed success in defending the election process. The election commission, a temporary body for the transition period, is winding down its activities even as its staff hopes to have a law establish a permanent election commission in May. END SUMMARY. DEFENDING THE IRAQI OUTCOME AT THE CAIRO CONFERENCE -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) On 19 March, PolOff met with the IECI Chief Electoral Officer Adil Mohammed Alwan Al-Lami to discuss his recent trip to Cairo. Al-Lami traveled to Egypt at the invitation of the Egyptian National Council of Human Rights (NCHR) to attend a joint NCHR and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) sponsored conference that reviewed recent elections in Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq and Palestine. According to Al-Lami, over 100 individuals participated in the conference and workshops, with delegations from Algeria, Yemen, Sudan, Lebanon, Palestine, and a large number of Egyptian officials. In addition to Al-Lami, the Iraqi delegation consisted of IECI Commissioners and Mustafa Safwat. ¶3. (C) Al-Lami said that the Egyptian delegates at the conference were initially skeptical that the Iraqi elections were fair. Conference attendees were more concerned about Shia dominance within the IECI than about U.S. control of Iraq; they questioned the neutrality of the IECI. Al-Lami said that this generated significant discussion and gave him a chance to vigorously defend the election process and explain how the IECI functioned. Al- Lami told PolOff that he provided the conference attendees with details on how the Commission worked and the processes and procedures in place to ensure fairness and independence were maintained. The Egyptian delegation, Al-Lami said, was particularly concerned about how IECI Commissioners resisted political pressure. In the end, Al-Lami claimed, his arguments and explanations were accepted. The delegates were generally convinced of the IECI's effectiveness and agreed to recommend the establishment of an Arab election monitoring commission in the after action conference report. AND ON NILE TELEVISION -------------- ¶4. (C) During a break in the conference Al-Lami said he was approached by a talk show host from Nile Television and agreed to participate in a live interview on the Iraqi elections which aired on March 16. During the hour-long interview, Al-Lami said he was challenged on a number of issues concerning the Iraqi elections. Questions he was asked included "how could truly independent elections be held in an occupied country?", "How could the IECI be independent when it was established by the U.S.?" and questions about the legitimacy of the insurgency. ¶5. (C) Al-Lami told the TV audience that Iraq was not an occupied country, but rather that the U.S. and MNF-I were there under the authority of a U.N. Security Council resolution. He said the election law was established legally and the elections were held fairly. On the issue of the insurgency Al-Lami said that he stated that terrorists in Iraq were wrong and the resistance was not justified because there were other ways, such as voting, to change the system. Al-Lami concluded his interview by saying that the U.S. will leave when democracy is established and said he felt his remarks were well received by the studio audience, who applauded at the end of the interview. AND TO THE MAN ON THE STREET -------------- ¶6. (C) Al-Lami also told PolOff that he made a point of asking ordinary Egyptians what they thought about the Iraqi elections and the seating of the Council of Representative (CoR). (Comment: Al-Lami was still in Egypt during the seating of the Council of Representative.) Al-Lami reported that his impression was that the average Egyptian viewed the seating of the Iraqi CoR and election in general with BAGHDAD 00000953 002 OF 002 suspicion. Based on his interactions on the street, Al- Lami said that most Egyptians supported Saddam. They saw him as a strong leader and hero. This image was reinforced by the Saddam trial, which was being covered at the same time. Al-Lami claimed that he actively engaged those he talked with trying to change their impression and minds about the election and democracy in the Middle East. (Comment: we defer to Embassy Cairo about what Egyptians think about Iraq. Certainly, our Iraqi contacts in the government largely think Arab publics do not understand the changes the Iraqis think are positive underway here. End Comment.) THE NEXT STEPS FOR THE IECI -------------- ¶7. (C) The next major event for the IECI Commissioners is the final after-action conference, set for May 1-4. The Commission is to be disbanded on 10 May, 90 days after the certification of elections. Al-Lami told PolOff that the Commissioners are now working on a new draft law to submit to the CoR which will re-establish the IECI on a permanent basis and hope to have it approved before May 10. COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) Al-Lami, a Shia, is an attorney by training and former President of the Human Rights Association, a Baghdad-based Human rights group. PolOffs have found him to be an articulate and dynamic individual. The IECI was criticized by a number of political groups and the final report of the International Mission for Iraqi elections noted various shortcomings in the work of the IECI in the December 15, 2005 elections. Whether Al-Lami will be re- appointed to the new IECE, which we expect will be approved to manage the planned 2006 provincial and municipal elections, remains to be seen in the charged political climate of Iraq. Interesting, Al-Lami also stated that the workshop he attended will call for the establishment of an Independent Arab Election Monitoring Commission. KHALILZAD