USG ASSISTANCE TO THE KRG ELECTIONS

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 001746 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/I AND DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM EAID IZ SUBJECT: USG ASSISTANCE TO THE KRG ELECTIONS REF: BAGHDAD 1486 -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified; handle accordingly. Not for distribution on the Internet. ¶2. (SBU) With the official campaign season for KRG elections underway, elections programs sponsored by DRL and RRT Erbil are in full swing. Our efforts aim to strengthen political parties, promote a widespread and informed civic dialogue on the elections, and bolster the ability of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to conduct public outreach. Four DRL grantees are implementing these programs: the National Democratic Institute (NDI),the International Republic Institute (IRI),the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX),and the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). RRT Erbil has been active in soliciting proposals for Quick Release Funds (QRF),which have already helped during the voter registration update process to enhance IHEC's outreach capabilities. End summary. -------------- Strengthening Political Parties -------------- ¶3. (SBU) NDI and IRI have both been based in Erbil since 2007 and have well-established relationships with parties competing in the KRG elections. As the elections were originally scheduled for May 2009, both institutes have had the opportunity to conduct ample campaign and candidate training. To prevent duplication, NDI works with the major parties, i.e., the KDP and PUK, as well as the Services and Reform Coalition (made up of KIU, KIG, DSP, and the Toilers), while IRI works with small and emerging parties such as Nawshirwan Mustafa's Change List, the Islamic parties, and the minority parties (Ref A). The training conducted thus far has focused on campaign finance, strategic messaging, and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) training. NDI has also provided technical assistance to help parties develop databases of party members. ¶4. (SBU) Many of the smaller parties in the KRG are not able to conduct polling, and there are no independent polls for them to use in developing their campaign messaging and deciding which areas of the region to target with intensified outreach. Both NDI and IRI are currently conducting polls in the KRG for this purpose. The results will not be made public, but will be shared with all parties participating in the elections as part of a series of trainings on strategic messaging. -------------- Promoting Civic Dialogue -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Civil society and the press are more developed in the Kurdistan region than elsewhere in Iraq, but both remain largely influenced directly by political parties. IREX and IWPR, the two DRL grantees focusing on the media, are providing training and small grants to both independent and party-affiliated outlets. In addition to providing training to journalists on the basics of reporting on elections, IREX has solicited proposals from Kurdish media for small grants to produce televised debates, newspaper supplements, and radio interviews covering the elections. IWPR conducts similar elections training, but will also be publishing a special daily edition of its METRO magazine and 20 broadcasts of an elections-focused radio show. The magazine will serve as a forum for young journalists to write for a newspaper not affiliated with a party and to benefit from the tutoring of IWPR's highly-qualified editors. IRI has established a media center in Erbil where they will be training candidates on speaking to the media and producing televised debates between the leaders of the different lists. Qthe leaders of the different lists. ¶6. (SBU) Many of the programs DRL grantees are implementing with civil society will directly support our goals for the KRG elections. For example, NDI has worked for several years with the Kurdish NGO network Shams. NDI is using the Shams network to train civil society representatives in poll monitoring. On the day of the election, NDI-trained observers watch the vote tally in randomly selected polling centers and will report the tally from each station to a central operation center that will orchestrate this parallel vote tabulation. The results will then be compared against the official results released by IHEC in Baghdad, with the aim of validating IHEC's numbers and boosting the election's credibility. If this pilot project is successful, NDI will replicate it during the national elections. -------------- Supporting IHEC -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The Kurdistan Regional Election Office (KREO) -- a regional office of IHEC -- was slow to get started on public outreach programs for the voter registration update. RRT Erbil and DRL grantees stepped in quickly to bolster the KREO's public outreach capacity. RRT Erbil received three QRF micro-grants of just under $25,000 each. The three identical projects will be implemented in each of the KRG provinces and will aim to educate voters on election procedures, spread information about the voter registration update, and decrease ballot spoilage. The program includes newsletters and ten mobile teams that travel to remote areas in the KRG to engage directly with potential voters. IRI created a public service announcement on the voter registration update, based on IHEC-produced materials that has aired on nearly all of the party-run stations in the KRG. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Our current programming responds effectively to the needs of Kurdistan voters, parties, and the IHEC. As one of our DRL grantee staff members who is based in Erbil told us recently, we are reaching the point where more USG-funded programming could over-saturate the parties and voters. We will continue to monitor IHEC's public outreach efforts as they move forward and we will work with DRL grantees and RRT Erbil to react quickly to any additional need for assistance. End Comment. HILL