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

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Summary
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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.

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Strengthening Political Parties
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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.

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Promoting Civic Dialogue
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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.

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Supporting IHEC
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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.


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Comment
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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