DIYALA PRT: POWER STRUGGLE BETWEEN PROVINCIAL

1. (U) This is a Diyala PRT reporting cable.

SUMMARY


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2. (C) Directly challenging Governor Ra'ad's authority, the
Diyala Provincial Council (PC) voted unanimously October 23
to pass a resolution that calls for the dismissal of two
assistant governors and demands Coalition Forces (CF)
reinstate a former PC member from Balad Ruz. The resolution
also directs the Provincial Director of Police Ghanem (PDoP)
to address PC members, concerns about personal security
details (PSD). Governor Ra'ad and PDoP Ghanem must act on
the resolution's provisions within seven days of passage or
face removal by the PC. The PC's actions are in retaliation
to Governor Ra'ad's recent restructuring of the provincial
contracting process that removed four PC members from the Bid
Opening and Analysis committee, including the deputy governor
and PC chair, and a request for a corruption investigation
into the 2006 contract awarding. Defending his record and
authority to appoint provincial government officials,
Governor Ra'ad sought to clarify the issues of concern, and
asked forgiveness for any wrong doing. However, despite an
urgent call from Deputy Minister of Municipalities Ayad I
Alsafi stressing the resolution contravenes Coalition
Provisional Authority (CPA) Order Number 71 and the current
Iraqi Constitution (septel), the PC refused to reconsider its
actions. The resolution risks alienating an already tenuous
reconciliation situation in Diyala. End Summary.

PC RETALIATES AGAINST GOVERNOR


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3. (C) On October 23, the Diyala Provincial Council voted
unanimously to pass a resolution calling for Governor Ra'ad
Rasheed Hameed al Timmimi to fire two of his assistant
governors and pressure CF to reinstate former PC member Ra'id
Khidr Abbas Saleh al-Rubai'I from Balad Ruz on the PC. Ra'id
was previously removed after he was accused of undermining
the authority of the local police chief and staging
demonstrations against the Balad Ruz mayor, whom he hoped to
replace. The resolution also calls for PDoP Ghanem Abass
Ibrahim al-Qureshy to address security concerns about PSDs
for PC members. The PC added a provision in the resolution
that requires Governor Ra'ad and PDoP to act on these
measures within seven days or face a no confidence vote.

GOVERNOR'S CALL FOR CORRUPTION INVESTIGATION ANGERS PC


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4. (C) The PC's vote is a result of an ongoing power
struggle between the PC and Governor Ra'ad and is in
retaliation to Governor Ra'ad restructuring the provincial
contracting process, calling for an investigation into the
2006 contract awarding process, and for violating a previous
agreement on political appointments. During an October 15
meeting with senior provincial government officials, Governor
Ra'ad announced that the four PC members on the Bid Opening
and Analysis committee would be removed, and a team of
provincial level civil servants, supervised by a senior
director general grade level provincial Officer would replace
them. This committee, which processed all bids for 2006
budget projects, is widely suspected of corruption, including
tampering with bids and funneling contracts to political
allies and cronies.



5. (C) Reacting angrily to the Governor's decision, Deputy
Governor Auwf Rahoumi Majeed Khudayer al Rubay'I and PC
Chairman Ibrahim Hassan Ahmad Ali Bajillan, who are members
of the Bid Opening and Analysis committee, challenged the
Governor to find fault with their work, and insisted that
only the PC possessed the authority to make these changes.
The Governor responded that the orders came directly from the
Ministry of Municipalities and were not subject to PC
approval. He subsequently challenged the PC to conduct its
own investigation, sending a letter to the PC Chairman
requesting the PC form a committee to look into the 2006
budget bid process corruption allegations.

PC ACCUSES GOVERNOR OF VIOLATING POLITICAL DEAL


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6. (C) PC members also are upset with Governor Ra'ad for a
perceived violation of a political deal struck in 2005 where
all PC members agreed that any new assistant governor
positions would be given to a PC member from the Iraq Islamic
Party (IIP). The PC claimed that the Governor broke the deal
when he rearranged the duties of his two assistant governors,
and created a third position for an assistant governor for

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technical affairs, to which he appointed Abdul Razac, an
engineer with little more than a year of experience, in May


2007. The Governor defended his actions claiming that the
federal government had authorized the appointment.

PC CONFRONTS GOVERNOR


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7. (C) On October 22, the PC leadership confronted Governor
Ra'ad and informed him of their dissatisfaction with recent
events. Arguing that they are the authoritative body in the
province, they insisted that the Governor must report to
them. They also said that they alone maintained the
authority to hire and fire all provincial employees, and
should be the first to receive all visiting VIPs in the
province. They also said they should administer the process
of integrating the Concerned Local Citizens (CLC) into the
Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).

COMMENT


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8. (C) The events of October 23 are unlikely to be the last
salvos in the ongoing struggle between the PC and Governor
Ra'ad. Feeling that it is being marginalized, particularly
during a time when improving security in Diyala and impending
national elections suggest that significant political rewards
are within reach, the PC is keen to reassert its authority in
provincial politics. Governor Ra'ad intends to conform to
the PC's demands by drafting memos firing his two assistant
governors, but will insist that the debate move to the
federal level for resolution by the Ministry of
Municipalities. End Comment.
BUTENIS