ELECTIONS COMMISSION STAFFING UPDATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 004084

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2017
TAGS: PGOV PINR KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: ELECTIONS COMMISSION STAFFING UPDATE

REF: A. BAGHDAD 3459

B. NEW YORK 919

Classified By: Political Counselor Matthew H. Tueller for Reasons 1.4(b
) and (d).

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) Summary: The Independent High Electoral Commission
(IHEC) has appointed twelve of the twenty Governorate
Electoral Officers; however, the CoR remains deadlocked over
nominations for the remaining eight positions. While mid-
and lower-ranked IHEC employees complain of patronage and
nepotism, we have uncovered no evidence of an organized
Sadrist infiltration. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Kareem
Al-Tamimi (Shia) supports UN oversight of the IHEC's staffing
and human resources practices. End Summary.

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Twelve Provincial GEOs Appointed; Eight Still Vacant
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2. (C) Reftel A outlined the controversy surrounding the
on-going appointment of the twenty Governorate Electoral
Officers (GEOs) (Note: Baghdad has two, each remaining
province has one, and the KRG region has one. End Note). The
Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) law requires
that the Council of Representatives (CoR) nominate a slate of
five candidates for each provincial GEO, after which the IHEC
selects one of the five. Although the CoR nominated and the
IHEC preliminarily selected twelve of the twenty GEOs, the
UNAMI-led International Electoral Advisory Team (IEAT)
complained in an October 5 letter to First Deputy Speaker
Khalid Al-Attiya that "the manner in which candidates were
identified by the Council of Representatives was not in
conformity with international best practices for a
transparent and inclusive process and thus impinges on the
independence and impartiality of the IHEC." Specifically,
"there were no public advertisements or nomination processes
in the governorates for the positions and no systematic
sorting or screening of candidates, thus denying all citizens
and political parties the opportunity to participate," the
letter stated.


3. (C) In response to the IEAT letter, CoR First Deputy
Speaker Attiya directed the IHEC to suspend the GEO
appointment process and to not announce the twelve appointees
selected to date. However, since the selection and
appointment process is nonetheless in full compliance with
the IHEC law, CoR Speaker Mashhadani subsequently sent to the
IHEC a letter that overruled First Deputy Speaker Attiya's
letter and directed the IHEC to proceed with the
appointments.


4. (U) In a November 18 ceremony the IHEC announced twelve of
the twenty GEOs:

- Mr. Ali Qadir Obaid (Kurdistan Regional Office)
- Mr. Biar Doski (Dohuk)
- Mr. Handren Mohammed Salih (Erbil)
- Mr. Taher Mohammed Amin (Sulaymaniyah)
- Mr. Farhad Majid Najim Al-Din Al Talabani (Kirkuk)
- Mr. Hatim Hathal Abudlhammeed (Salah ad-Din)
- Mr. Khalid Rijab Adbulrazzak (Anbar)
- Mr. Hussein Abid Ali Khleif (Babel)
- Mr. Hasan Kadum Alawan (Qadisiyah)
- Mr. Motamad Nima Abdul Mushin (Muthanna)
- Mr. Jafar Kadum Jabur (Maysan)
- Mr. Ala'a Abd Auda (Dhi Qar)


5. (C) Eight of the twelve appointees have some prior
electoral experience, and the Dohuk and Kirkuk appointees are
the incumbant GEOs. The four appointees that do not have
prior electoral experience are Mr. Taher (Sulaymaniyah - no
info),Mr. Motamad (Muthanna - a lawyer),Mr. Jafar (Maysan -
a law professor),and Mr. Ali (Kurdistan Regional Office - a
NGO head).


6. (C) The CoR remains deadlocked on the appointment of the
remaining eight GEOs. It should come as no surprise that the
deadlocks exist in those provinces in which the Kurds and
Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (Shia) have the most to lose
in a provincial election: Baghdad (2),Basra, Najaf, Karbala,
Wasit, Ninewa, and Diyala. Underscoring the violence
simmering below the surface, the public affairs chief of the
IHEC Basra office was murdered on October 27; according to
IHEC Chief of Security Ali Al-Sherify, the murder was in
connection with the victim's employment with the IHEC.

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Politicization of IHEC Staff Appointments

BAGHDAD 00004084 002 OF 002


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7. (C) In Reftel B the UN Electoral Assistance Division (EAD)
shared their concerns that the IHEC was being politicized
through the manipulation of staff appointments.
Specifically, the EAD noted that staff hiring and firing was
not being done in a transparent manner and that the Chief
Electoral Officer (CEO) was a Sadrist who was seeding the
IHEC with political appointees.


8. (C) In multiple discussions with the mid- and lower-ranked
members of the IHEC during the month of November, emboffs
have gathered a milder impression of CEO Kareem Al-Tamimi
(Shia),who is from the Baghdad Shaab neighborhood of
Adhamiyah. Naturally, he has not made statements to emboffs
that suggest a political agenda, but neither have IHEC
employees complained to us that he has. Kareem is
particularly grateful to MNF-I for receiving preferential
treatment for a kidney ailment at the International Zone's
28th Combat Surgical Hospital. Kareem's Personal Security
Detail (PSD) has family and neighborhood affiliations that
are typical of other commissioner PSDs. Kareem has two
deputies: Mr. Qasim (technical assistance - Sadr City) and
Mr. Mateen (administration and finance - Turkoman). When
UNAMI Chief Electoral Advisor Sandra Mitchell challenged the
board of commissioners and the CEO for their opaque staff
hiring and firing practices, Kareem readily accepted and
welcomed UN capacity building and assistance in this area.


9. (C) We have also obtained some limited information on the
IHEC department heads (also known as the directors general):

Public Communications - Abdul Rahman Kahlefa (Kurd)
Voter Registration - Ali Hameed Hawi (from Adhamiyah)
Capacity Building - Hazim Al Badri (from Rusafa - Palestine
Street)
Operations Management - Waleed Kkahsid
National Security - Mukuram Shaker
Finance - Hadi Hassan (from Karadah)
Human Resources - Muqdad Al-Sharifi (Shia)
Audit - Gahlib Al Wiyah
Legal - Hamza
Security - Ali Al Sherify

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Comment
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10. (C) Comment: While IHEC low- and mid-level employees
have not complained of organized political infiltration, they
have commented on patronage and nepotism (for example, four
of CEO Kareem's five brothers are employed by the IHEC's
national and local offices). We note that Kareem and the
IHEC board have welcomed UNAMI's offer for capacity building
and supervision of their human resources and staffing
processes, hardly the expected attitude if they are
attempting to subvert the organization. IHEC Chairman Faraj
Al-Haidari exhibited shrewd political survival skills when he
told poloff on November 26 that he will leverage UN
involvement to shield the IHEC from attacks by disgruntled
CoR members who seek to insert sectarian staff. End Comment.
BUTENIS