SITREP: U.S. MONITORS REPORT QUIET AND ORDERLY

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 002000 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: IZ PGOV KDEM SUBJECT: SITREP: U.S. MONITORS REPORT QUIET AND ORDERLY START TO THE KRG ELECTIONS REF: BAGHDAD 1998 ¶1. (SBU) Today, July 25, voters in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region head to the polls to vote for a new regional parliament and to participate in the first popular election of a Kurdistan president. This election is the first Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament election since January 30, 2005. In that race, the coalition of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) won 104 of the IKP's 111 seats. While today's election may slightly shift the political balance of the IKP, the KDP-PUK coalition is expected to retain its majority. Political analysts predict that newly formed Change List party, headed by former PUK Deputy Secretary General Nawshirwan Mustafa, could win 15 seats. The Service and Reformation coalition, composed of four opposition parties, also may win nine or more seats. Under the amended Kurdistan Electoral Law, minority parties have been allocated eleven seats by quota -- five to Christians, five to Turcomen and one to Armenians. Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani is expected to win the vote for the presidency without much contest. ¶2. (SBU) In support of Iraq's electoral process, the U.S. Mission has fielded eight election monitor teams today: two teams in Erbil, two teams in Dohuk, three teams in Sulaimaniyah and one team in Baghdad. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has also sent out six observer teams. We understand that international diplomatic missions based in Iraq will also field election observer teams today, including: the Arab League, Australia, the European Union, Denmark, France, Japan, Korea, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Turkey and the UK. The Embassy is working in close coordination with these teams, and anticipates selected readout and reports from these teams in the coming days. ¶3. (SBU) As of 12:00 p.m. today, the U.S. election monitor teams report a quiet morning at the polling stations visited. One elections official estimated that turnout was at roughly 30%. During the morning, there was virtually no traffic on the streets as Peshmerga forces strictly enforced a one-day vehicle ban across Kurdistan. U.S. monitors reported seeing families walking to polling centers on foot. Soon after polls opened at 8:00 a.m., monitors noted that there were no lines of people, and that voters were able to cast their ballots immediately. Party agents were present in all of the polling sites visited by the U.S. teams, and both the Kurdistani List and the Change List appear to be well represented. U.S. monitors also report seeing many domestic observers from non-governmental organizations. ¶4. (SBU) In Erbil, RRToffs monitored a special temporary polling site that was assembled for President Barzani at the Sheraton Hotel. They report heavy media coverage as Barzani voted and proudly displayed his finger, which was dipped in a special purple ink issued by the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC). Elsewhere, U.S. monitors noted that the KDP-PUK coalition has organized a children's campaign; kids with banners, balloons and Kurdistan List t-shirts were seen riding bicycles near the polling stations. All teams have reported numerous incidents of voters being turned away from polling stations because they could not find their name on the voter registry. One woman in Erbil was turned away because she was registered under her family name instead of her married name, she told Poloff that she planned to file a complaint with IHEC. Embassy Baghdad is tracking this issue closely to determine the magnitude of the reported problems; U.S. election monitors are telling people with electoral QU.S. election monitors are telling people with electoral complaints to report their problems to IHEC. FORD