Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KIRKUK48
2006-02-28 19:45:00
CONFIDENTIAL
REO Kirkuk
Cable title:  

SALAH AD DIN WANTS PROVINCIAL COUNCIL DISTRICTS

Tags:  PGOV KDEM IZ 
pdf how-to read a cable
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RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHMOS
DE RUEHKUK #0048 0591945
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 281945Z FEB 06
FM REO KIRKUK
TO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0501
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0538
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHKUK/REO KIRKUK 0565
C O N F I D E N T I A L KIRKUK 000048 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

BAGHDAD FOR POL, USAID, NCT, POLMIL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/28/2016
TAGS: PGOV KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: SALAH AD DIN WANTS PROVINCIAL COUNCIL DISTRICTS

CLASSIFIED BY: Scott Dean, Regional Coordinator (Acting),Reo
Kirkuk, Department of State .
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)



C O N F I D E N T I A L KIRKUK 000048

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

BAGHDAD FOR POL, USAID, NCT, POLMIL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/28/2016
TAGS: PGOV KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: SALAH AD DIN WANTS PROVINCIAL COUNCIL DISTRICTS

CLASSIFIED BY: Scott Dean, Regional Coordinator (Acting),Reo
Kirkuk, Department of State .
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (U) This is a SET Tikrit cable.

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


2. (C) Salah Ad Din contacts are pushing to elect the next
provincial council by district. The January 2005 elections
brought 15 Provincial Council members from a single district
because of the Sunni boycott. District elections would
strengthen the concept of representation. The people making
this call include Sunni Arabs, Shia Arabs, Turcomans, and Kurds,
they hope to protect each minority's rights. But, more
importantly, major parties, such as the IAW, will be able to add
support through the home town message being told by their
nominees across the province.

--------------
MANY VOICES, ONE MESSAGE
--------------


3. (C) Since the beginning of February, SET contacts have been
saying they want to elect the next Salah ad Din Provincial
Council this summer by district. The Deputy Governor, BG
Abdullah Hussein Mohammed, told SET that voting by districts,
rather than a slate province-wide, would give citizens a larger
voice in their political future. He said people throughout the
province believe that voting for people from their area would
give them a stronger feeling of democracy. BG Abdullah came
away from his IVP Federalism trip to the United States in 2005
impressed with governors' and congressional representatives'
dedication to their home areas. Governor Sheikh Hamad Hamud
Shukti made a passing comment to SET about the need for people
to vote for men they knew.


4. (C) The leadership at a Political Action Committee meeting
also opined that districts were far better than any other kind
of province-wide voting system. All in this meeting, which
represents at least 15 political entities in Salah Ad Din
Province, agreed.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


6. (C) Salah Ad Din's enthusiasm for district voting is easy to
explain: the January 2005 elections brought 15 Provincial
Council members from a single district because of the Sunni
boycott. With 15 of 42 provincial council members coming from
Tozkhurmato, Sunni Arabs now represent less than 50% of the
provincial council members, while representing about 80% of the
provincial population. Moving to district voting will allow the
Kurds and Turcomans to have their voice from the east, the Shia
their voice from Balad, and Sunni Arabs from the other six
areas. The focus on having a hometown person could boost tribal
leaders' chances for nomination.


7. (C) Citizens have been increasing their political
participation since the January 2005 elections. Ever since the
October referendum, they have been looking ahead to the next
political process, trying to determine how to get the most out
of it. Salah ad Din is ready for a new provincial council, one
which is forward-thinking and will bring economic development to
the province. District-based elections will push off the stage
smaller parties with thin support across the province.
Geographically concentrated minorities may pick up some seats.
The real winners, though, will be the larger political parties,
like the Iraqi Accordance Front. They'll add the home town draw
to their national platform, garnering perhaps an outright
majority in the provincial council.

ORESTE