PRT SALAH AD DIN: PC JOCKEYING ATTEMPTS TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000775

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/22/2019
TAGS: KDEM PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: PRT SALAH AD DIN: PC JOCKEYING ATTEMPTS TO
MARGINALIZE IIP AND DEP GOV ABDULLAH

REF: A. BAGHDAD 560

B. BAGHDAD 454

Classified By: Salah Ad Din PRT Leader Rick Bell for reasons 1.4 (a) an
d (d).

(U) This is a PRT Salah Ad Din reporting cable.


1. (C) SUMMARY: Sources told the PRT that many members of
the new Salah ad Din (SaD) Provincial Council (PC) met on
March 15 to form a coalition called "Fortress Salah ad Din."
The coalition aims to prevent current Deputy Governor
Abdullah Hussein Jebara or any Iraqi Islamic Party
(IIP)/Tawafuq member from getting a top job in the new PC.
This is a politically charged move since they belong to the
two largest constituency groups in the province: the Juboori
tribe (of which Abdullah is a leading member) and the
district of Samarra (where many IIP members are from),
respectively. The coalition will seek to ensure support from
the two groups by giving each one of the two top positions in
the new SaD government. Sources say the coalition discussed
possible candidates for the Governor and PC Chair positions,
and will seek to avoid regionalism by giving positions to the
three districts not represented on the new PC. The coalition
will finalize its plans after the election results are
certified. The PRT has also heard of a competing attempt at
coalition-building involving IIP/Tawafuq. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Three separate sources told the PRT that 14-16
members of the new 28-seat PC met on March 15 and agreed to
form a coalition called "Fortress Salah ad Din." Reports
concur that the group agreed to support the host of the
meeting, Ahmed Abdullah Abid (aka Abu Mazin),of the Iraqi
National List (INL),for PC Chairman. Reports vary as to the
solidity of the choice for Governor: Khalid Hassan Mahdi of
the Iraqi Scholars & Intellectuals List is mentioned most
prominently, but one PC member who attended the meeting,
Nayazi Mohammed Mahdi of the Iraqi Turkmen Front list, told
the PRT March 17 that there was a second candidate in the
running for Governor, Dhamin Alleiwi of the Liberation and
Construction Front. Nayazi explained the rationale for
choosing Abu Mazin and Khalid: Khalid is a Samarran, and the
Samarrans expected one of their own to hold a top job since
they won 11 seats, by far the most of any district. Abu
Mazin was the highest vote-getter and the leader of one of
the two lists (Tawafuq and INL) that tied as the top winners
with five seats each. He has the added benefit of being a
member of the Juboori tribe--the largest in SaD. Nayazi
provided no rationale for Dhamin to be Governor.


3. (C) Two other sources gave similar reports. Mayor
Shouket of Yethrib told the PRT officer in Balad that none of
the five PC members of the IIP/Tawafuq were present at the
March 15 meeting. This was confirmed by Ra'id Khutab
(strictly protect throughout),a political strategist for the
SaD National List who said the new coalition intends to
marginalize IIP members (who are all from Samarra) for fear
of their religious extremism.


4. (C) Ra'id said the coalition also wants to prevent
Abdullah Hussein Jebara, the current Deputy Governor, from
getting a top job. While the coalition may eventually allow
Abdullah or IIP to join, Ra'id said it will try to prevent
this until it has a solid agreement in place with a strong
majority. Ra'id's account of the reasons for the two top
picks was consistent with Nayazi's: picking Abu Mazin and
Khalid Hassan Mahdi will appease the Juboori tribe and the
Samarrans by giving each one of the top two positions.


5. (C) Nayazi said he will support selecting candidates for
advisors to the governor from the three districts not
Qadvisors to the governor from the three districts not
represented on the new PC: Dawr, Dujayl and Sharqat. He
believes this will help avoid regionalism in the provincial
government. The coalition plans to meet again after the
election results are certified. At that next meeting, the
Fortress Salah Ad Din members plan to sign a legally binding
document spelling out points of agreement.


6. (C) The Kurdistan Patriotic Union (PUK)-affiliated
secretary of the Tuz District Council, Mr. Sardar, told the
PRT of a competing coalition involving IIP/Tawafuq that would
give the governor's post to a Tawafuq member, one deputy
governor slot to Dr. Ameen Aziz Jawad, a Kurd from Tuz, and
the other to a PC member from Saleh al-Mutlak,s list (the
Iraqi National Project Assembly). Interestingly, Sardar
noted also that the IIP coalition would give the PC chair job
to Abu Mazin, as Fortress Salah Ad Din plans to do.

COMMENT
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7. (C) The incoming PC, although fewer in number than the

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old (28 PC members vs. 44),is more balanced geographically
and seems to have more members with strong, outgoing
personalities. The outgoing PC was largely a passive group,
easily dominated by a few strong leaders. The change was one
of the intended effects of the open-list system; the previous
closed-list system provided party leaders with total control
and an incentive to fill slots with loyal allies who could be
relied upon to follow directions. Despite preliminary
reports that the new coalition is in agreement, it will be
tough to marginalize Abdullah Jebara. With abundant
resources, and family members and close associates positioned
throughout the provincial government in the most powerful and
sensitive positions, he is well-equipped for Iraqi-style
hardball political infighting. The situation remains fluid;
we will not know for sure the outcome of all this jockeying
(and neither will they) until the new PC formally elects the
top officials. END COMMENT.
BUTENIS