KRG ELECTIONS: IHEC SEEKS TO BALANCE BETWEEN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001781 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/30/2019 TAGS: IZ PGOV KDEM SUBJECT: KRG ELECTIONS: IHEC SEEKS TO BALANCE BETWEEN BAGHDAD AND ERBIL REF: A. BAGHDAD 1371 ¶B. BAGHDAD 1702 Classified By: Political Officer Tim Lenderking for reasons 1.4 (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) has announced the official start of campaign season just four weeks before the July 25 Election Day on which voters will select new members of the Iraqi-Kurdistani Parliament and participate in the first-ever popular election of the region's president (Ref. A.). Voter registration ended on June 8, and the IHEC, through its regional office in Erbil, is scrambling to finalize voter lists, identify polling centers, train poll workers, and coordinate logistics for election day. Amid this flurry of preparations, on June 24 the IKP introduced a new twist into the run-up to the elections - the unexpected passage of a new Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) constitution (Ref. B). IHEC is now under pressure to administer a third electoral event on July 25 - a constitutional referendum. Chairman Faraj Al-Haydari previously stated that IHEC would "need 60 days for preparations before holding any referendum in Iraq." As political pressures build in Kurdistan, the IHEC will have to find solutions that are likely to set the precedent for future electoral events in Iraq. End Summary. -------------- The Balance Between Baghdad and Erbil -------------- ¶2. (C) IHEC Commissioner Hamdia Al-Hussaini recently moved to Erbil to serve as IHEC's Chief Electoral Officer for the KRG elections. Commissioner Al-Hussaini replaced the embattled former KREO director, Dr. Ali Obeid. Originally from Babel, she is a Shia and a member of the Da'wa party. Commissioner Al-Hussaini has served as a member of the IHEC Board of Commissioners for five years in various capacities, and when Poloffs met with her, she seemed efficient, ambitious and ready to take on the challenges of the pending KRG elections. However, Poloffs also noted her staff is in some disarray; it seems that the sudden power shift disrupted elections planning, especially public outreach for the Voter Registry Update at the beginning of June. All the same, Commissioner Al-Hussaini seems determined to keep things on track - and to bring the authority and oversight of Baghdad into IHEC's operations in Erbil. ¶3. (C) Over the past month, Baghdad-based IHEC Chairman Faraj Al-Haydari (aligned with KDP) has increased his direct involvement in the KRG elections planning process. During a recent two-week trip to Erbil, Chairman Al-Haydari sent a proposal back to Baghdad that recommended establishing a separate counting center in the KRG to tabulate the results of the presidential election (Note: this was likely under partisan pressure in Erbil. End Note). Sandra Mitchell, head of UNAMI's Electoral Assistance Team, told Poloffs that the UN strongly objected to this request. Currently all KRG votes are set to be tallied at IHEC's Data Entry Center in Baghdad; political observers from all parties in the KRG are invited to observe the process. In a meeting with Chairman Al-Haydari on June 15, Poloffs reiterated support for the plan to tabulate all results in Baghdad. -------------- Voter Registration Update -------------- ¶4. (U) The Voter Registration Update was held in the Kurdistan region from May 25 - June 8, 2009. With roughly 2.5 million eligible voters, the IHEC sought to improve its voter registration list as much as possible in the three provinces of the KRG. The update was focused on citizens who have moved since the last update in July 2007. IHEC Qhave moved since the last update in July 2007. IHEC administered voter registration updates at 89 centers in the KRG (Note: 84 in the three provinces and five in Baghdad. End note). UNAMI reports that a total of 512,928 people visited the centers over 180,000 forms were completed. This means that about 35% of the visitors filled out a form to update their voter registration information, while the balance likely discovered that no change was needed. UNAMI reports that IHEC received only five minor complaints during the process. IHEC continues to input the updates from the VRU to prepare the voter lists that will be used on July 25. -------------- Where To Vote? -------------- ¶5. (C) The IHEC, with support from UNAMI, is in the process of identifying the sites for the polling centers for the KRG elections. A provisional list of 1,149 polling center locations have been finalized by each of the three BAGHDAD 00001781 002 OF 002 Governorate Electoral Offices (GEOs) in the KRG. Poloffs have learned that some of the proposed polling centers initially proposed by the Dahuk GEO were actually located in Ninewa province; UNAMI has discounted this as an error. IHEC sent special teams to the field to identify the correct sites and to send new coordinates for each location. The UNAMI team reports that the final list of sites should be ready sometime during the first week of July. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) In Baghdad and in Erbil, the IHEC team strives to meet deadlines and make necessary procurements in time for the July elections. Poloffs and RRToffs have often witnessed uncoordinated communication and leadership between IHEC, the KREO, and the three GEOs in Kurdistan; we note that the fifteen-person UNAMI Electoral Assistance Team has been instrumental in keeping these offices synchronized and moving forward. Amid these challenges, IHEC now faces new pressure to add a KRG constitutional referendum to plans for the July 25 election day. UNAMI has privately told Poloffs that it is not technically feasible for IHEC to administer a credible referendum in less than 60 days. However, it is up to the IHEC Board of Commissioners to decide whether to risk IHEC's credibility in an effort to hold the KRG Constitutional referendum with insufficient planning, or to stand up to the political pressure in Erbil and deny the request. HILL