Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BAGHDAD165
2009-01-22 16:00:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:  

DIWANIYAH ELECTION UPDATE: PREPARATIONS ON TRACK,

Tags:  PGOV KDEM PINR IZ 
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VZCZCXRO2681
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #0165/01 0221600
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 221600Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1339
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000165 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2019
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PINR IZ
SUBJECT: DIWANIYAH ELECTION UPDATE: PREPARATIONS ON TRACK,
CAMPAIGNING INTENSE

Classified By: PRT Team Leader Michael Klecheski for reasons 1.4 (b) an
d (d).

This is a PRT Diwaniyah reporting cable.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000165

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2019
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PINR IZ
SUBJECT: DIWANIYAH ELECTION UPDATE: PREPARATIONS ON TRACK,
CAMPAIGNING INTENSE

Classified By: PRT Team Leader Michael Klecheski for reasons 1.4 (b) an
d (d).

This is a PRT Diwaniyah reporting cable.


1. (C) Summary: Diwaniyah provincial election authorities
are doing well with preparations for the upcoming election,
despite playing catch-up on a few details. Based on an
informal PRT poll and other data, much of the public seems
comfortable with details of the voting process and intends to
vote. Posters for many parties and candidates are evident in
Diwaniyah city, casting doubt on accusations that the
Governor's forces and his ISCI party are ensuring that only
their own posters may be hung. A prominent sheikh complained
that ISCI is engaged in widespread bribery but hastened to
add that he and other sheikhs were working to counter ISCI's
effort; our interlocutor was among several contacts who felt
Da'wa had a decent shot at victory. End Summary.

IHEC Preparations Advancing
--------------


2. (C) Diwaniyah Governorate Electoral Office (GEO) chief
Hasan Kadhem Al-Waa'li, who has made himself available to us
with some regularity in the run-up to the election, met with
us again on January 19 for an update on preparations. His
office continues to receive the official voter information
sheets but has yet to receive the voter lists, which are
expected to arrive in Iraq from the UK soon and then to be
delivered by truck from Basra, under ISF escort. Ballots are
expected to arrive in Basra on or about January 25, and will
be delivered directly to the GEO warehouse in Diwaniyah,
where they are to be kept under guard. They are to be
distributed to the province's twenty-one GEO field offices
(formerly voter registration offices) on January 27-29 under
ISF and IHEC escort, and then to be delivered to the
province's 243 polling centers. Plans are in place for IHEC
staff to begin setting up for the voting on the eve of
election day; staffers will spend the night at the polling
centers to have everything ready when the polls open.


3. (C) GEO chief Hasan, while insisting that most of the
preparations are in place, expressed concern about the
availability of electricity in many voting centers,
particularly in rural areas. Noting that IHEC had offered

only flashlights to conduct the vote count if electricity
were cut off to the centers, he said he needed small
generators to ensure that the lights are on when the counting
takes place.

Bio Note on Chief Hasan
--------------


4. (C) Despite funding shortfalls and staffing issues in his
office, Hasan is always ready to engage as time permits, is a
capable manager, and functions independently without
inappropriate influence from provincial or national
officials. Though we suspect that he personally favors
religious parties, at no time has he displayed such a
preference in the execution of his official duties as GEO.
His ability to cultivate and maintain relationships with key
provincial officials, including Diwaniyah's governor (ISCI)
and MG Uthman, commander of the Eighth Division of the Iraqi
Army (headquartered just outside the provincial capital of
Diwaniyah),have enabled him to at times unite opposing
factions in order to meet the needs of his office.


Voter Education
--------------


5. (C) Seeking to get a better handle on the public's
interest in voting and knowledge of the voting procedures,
the PRT asked our locally employed staff to informally poll
Diwaniyah city residents. Although the sampling size was
small (52 respondents),it included people representing a
range of professional and economic backgrounds. The
Qrange of professional and economic backgrounds. The
respondents generally indicated that they were comfortable
with voting procedures: 71 percent said they understood
those procedures, and almost as many reported knowing in what
polling station to vote. Nonetheless, only 17 percent said
they had received voter education -- although this does not
preclude that they learned about the electoral process in the
media -- and less than half reported having seen a sample
ballot.


6. (C) In a conversation two weeks ago, Hasan had told us
that GEO had conducted some half a dozen voter education
seminars, with about 150 attendees at each. Each seminar,
while focusing on all the key elements of the voting process,
was also targeted to address concerns of those in a
particular area. Indeed, a sheikh from the town of Hamzah

BAGHDAD 00000165 002 OF 002


told us that he had attended a seminar targeted for tribal
leaders in his area; those present had been urged to pass on
what they had learned to their community. In our most recent
conversation, Hasan said that the GEO's voter education
seminars are now being aired twice daily on local television
and radio stations.

Accusations of ISCI Manipulation
--------------


7. (C) Over recent weeks, several PRT contacts who are not
sympathetic to Governor Khudari and his Islamic Supreme
Council of Iraq (ISCI) party have complained to us that the
party has used the power of incumbency to unfairly stack the
deck, most notably by getting the police to look the other
way while ISCI loyalists tear down rival parties, campaign
posters and put up ISCI posters in their place. One contact
asserted that the police had stashes of ISCI posters at
checkpoints, to be put up at key locations. In an earlier
meeting with us, GEO head Hasan had reported hearing similar
accusations, but he added that few people came forward to
file the formal complaints necessary for GEO to investigate.
Hasan had repeatedly insisted that his office was fully
independent and would lead vigorous investigations, although
at least one contact critical of ISCI argued to us that GEO
was under the Governor's thumb.


8. (C) While we cannot judge the veracity of these charges,
we saw, in our recent trips through Diwaniyah city, numerous
posters for parties and candidates representing a wide
spectrum of parties. Whereas our earlier informal soundings
of the public had indicated widespread disinterest in the
election, the current polling found 67 percent of respondents
indicating they planned to vote.


9. (C) One prominent sheikh in the province expressed to us
his concern at ISCI's aggressive campaigning, including in
areas of his influence. He noted that ISCI had been bribing
voters and was giving every sign that it would continue doing
so. The sheikh noted that he would counter ISCI's efforts,
including by ferrying pro-Da'wa voters to the polls on
election day, and implied that he would be offering his own
bribes where necessary. He posited that despite ISCI's
strong effort, Da'wa had a good shot at garnering the most
votes in the election.


10. (C) Perhaps further evidence of ISCI's covert campaign
practices, a trusted NGO representative who is active in
non-partisan voter education efforts and in independent
observation at polling sites contacted the PRT claiming to
have witnessed one of the sons of ISCI's Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
offering cash bribes equivalent to 20 USD to citizens for
their support of ISCI-affiliated candidates in the tribal
stronghold of Hamzah.

Comment
--------------


11. (C) Things look positive for the election in Diwaniyah.
IHEC has generally done a good job of preparing for election
day, although it has had to play a bit of catch-up on a few
issues and may not be as proactive about planning for
contingencies as it should be. The public appears to expect
a peaceful election, which should boost turnout, and seems
comfortable with the complexities of the electoral process.
Concerns linger, however, that ISCI could use its dominance
in the current provincial government to manipulate the
outcome to its own advantage.
CROCKER