PRT SALAH AD DIN: GEO PREPARES FOR PROVINCIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000077 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/11/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PINS IZ SUBJECT: PRT SALAH AD DIN: GEO PREPARES FOR PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS, FEARS FRAUD AND INTIMIDATION REF: 08 BAGHDAD 1684 Classified By: Deputy Political Counselor John Fox for reasons 1.4 (a) and (d). ¶1. (U) This is a PRT Salah ad Din reporting cable. ¶2. (C) SUMMARY: PRT Salah Ad Din (SaD) and local Coalition Forces (CF) met recently with the SaD Governorate Elections Officer (GEO) to discuss preparations for upcoming provincial elections. The GEO detailed the procedure for holding elections in SaD, and said preparations are going smoothly. He acknowledged the need for voter education and described voter outreach efforts. The GEO voiced concern about potential electoral fraud and fears that current provincial officials may intimidate political rivals. He lacks confidence in the Iraqi Police (IP),who are providing election security in SaD. The GEO has requested close involvement by CF to counteract this, maintaining that a visible U.S. presence on election day would not taint the elections' legitimacy. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (SBU) In a January 3 meeting the SaD GEO, Dr. Hatim Abdulhamid, said that the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) had approved 591 out of 615 candidates to run in elections in SaD. Hatim said that the majority of the 24 disqualified were due to Ba'ath party connections. The candidates will run in 45 different political entities (parties, coalitions, or independent candidates) for 28 provincial council seats. -------------- VOTER EDUCATION EFFORTS -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Hatim believes voters in SaD are largely uninformed about the elections; for this reason IHEC began holding voter education seminars at the end of December. The PRT informed him of its province-wide voter outreach program sponsored through a local NGO. Hatim agreed this was a good idea and approved of the NGO chosen. -------------- ELECTION PREPARATIONS -------------- ¶5. (C) According to Hatim, ballots will arrive in SaD from Mosul, will and be transported to the GEO warehouse in Tikrit. From there they will be distributed to branch warehouses and then to the 280 voting centers in SaD. Iraqi Police (IP) under Provincial Director of Police (PDOP) Major General Hamed Al-Namis will move the ballots to voting centers; the Iraqi Army (IA) will serve as backup. The ballots will arrive sealed with serial numbers, which supervisors will verify at each voting center prior to the elections. Each voting center will have approximately five stations with 400 voter names. The voter registration lists at each voting station correspond to Public Distribution System (PDS) name lists and distribution sites. ¶6. (SBU) Five voting centers will service a remote area to the west of Tikrit near Lake Tharthar. Area residents could travel to vote in a PDS-based voting center, or stay in the Tharthar area for convenience. Hatim had originally requested 24 centers for remote areas. ¶7. (C) After the elections, votes will be tallied and sealed in boxes with a serial-numbered lock. Three copies will be made of the official vote tallies; one will remain with the voting center manager, and two will be sent with the ballots back to the GEO warehouse. Once there, one copy will remain with the GEO and the other will be forwarded to Baghdad. ¶8. (C) Hatim said on election day he will work out of an operations center in the Provincial Governorate building in Tikrit. Local CF confirmed that they will have liaisons at the center who will be in contact with CF HQ. During the meeting Hatim and his security assistant, Waddah Ibrahim Mohammed, repeatedly requested that CF maintain a visible QMohammed, repeatedly requested that CF maintain a visible presence in SaD--on the ground and in the air--on election day. He disagreed with USG's assessment that U.S. involvement in elections would taint their legitimacy. CF assured him they will have this capability. CF and the Iraqi Security Forces are conducting joint security reviews of all voting centers in the province. -------------- SECURITY CONCERNS -------------- ¶9. (C) Hatim said that the IP will provide primary security for elections, with IA as backup. Locations with known BAGHDAD 00000077 002 OF 002 insurgent activity will have additional security. He has been troubled that the IP have been telling him that known troubled areas are "all clear." Hatim said he has more confidence in CF security arrangements. -------------- POTENTIAL INTIMIDATION CONCERNS -------------- ¶10. (C) Hatim voiced concern that current provincial officials may use their positions to influence the election. He has received reports that Major Ahmed Fahal, Head of the SaD Police Department Counterterrorism Unit, had attempted to prevent a political party from registering for the election. ¶11. (C) In a separate meeting with the PRT, Hatim said that Fahal supports Deputy Governor Abdullah Jebara, and expressed concern that Fahal might target Abdullah's political rivals on election day. Hatim feared that anyone running against Abdullah could be accused of terrorist activity and be arrested by Fahal. (NOTE: Deputy Governor Abdullah was initially disqualified from running by the de-Ba'athification Commission; his candidacy has since been reinstated. END NOTE). Hatim maintains that Abdullah and Fahal respect CF, and requested CF protection to prevent election-day irregularities by them. ¶12. (C) Hatim told us that Abdullah has a record of intimidating GEOs: he had had the previous GEO (before Hatim) arrested (reftel). Hatim said that after becoming GEO, Abdullah told him about his predecessor's arrest in an effort to intimidate him. -------------- POTENTIAL FRAUD CONCERNS -------------- ¶13. (C) Hatim worried about potential electoral fraud. The five remote voting centers near Lake Tharthar create the potential for double voting, since they would be outside the PDS name-list system. Hatim said there will be a cordon of these areas and a curfew will be imposed near the remote stations to reduce the chance that double-voting will occur. Hatim didn't explain why there are special arrangements for the Lake Tharthar area, but not for other equally remote areas. ¶14. (C) As another counter-fraud measure, voting center managers will continually compare the number of ballots cast with the voter sign-in sheet. The number of ballots cannot deviate from the number of signatures by more than four percent (e.g., 300 votes allows a maximum of 12 signatures to be missing). Hatim said he will insist on a clean election in SaD, in spite of any intimidation attempts. Yet he expects that following the elections all disappointed parties will accuse him of voter fraud. CROCKER