IHEC NOTIFIES CANDIDATES OF DISQUALIFICATION AS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000136 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/18/2020 TAGS: KDEM PGOV IZ SUBJECT: IHEC NOTIFIES CANDIDATES OF DISQUALIFICATION AS POLITICAL LEADERS EDGE TOWARDS INTERVENTION TO RESOLVE DE-BA'ATHIFICATION CRISIS Classified By: Acting DCM Gary A. Grappo, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) At a meeting with the Ambassador January 19, PM Maiki said that he was upset by the entire de-Ba'athification crisis. He expressed support for the plan proposed by ISCI/Badr bloc leader Hadi al-Ameri, which he said would lead to the establishment January 20 of a new de-Ba'athification committee that will review the list of some 500 names, confirm determinations for clear-cut Ba'athists, and postpone some "hard" cases for post-election vetting. Vice President Hashemi told the Ambassador earlier in the afternoon about a different approach with the Presidency Council meeting January 20 to declare that the Ahmed Chalabi-led Accountability and Justice Commission (AJC) does not have the statutory required for the actions it has taken in the past two weeks. That decision would likely need to be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court (details to be reported septel). On the evening of January 18, the Accountability and Justice Commission (AJC) sent a revised list informing the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to exclude a total of 514 candidates and 9 political entities under de-Ba'athification provisions. IHEC has already notified the political entities of the candidates excluded. Starting January 20, the three-day window to appeal IHEC's decision to the Electoral Judicial Panel (EJP) will begin, and parties can act to replace candidates on their lists during this time frame, according to UNAMI elections experts working with IHEC. IHEC Commissioner Judge Qasim al-Aboudi told poloff that candidates who wish to appeal the de-Ba'athfication decision would be best served through the seven-judge Cassation Chamber formed to address AJC appeals, rather than through the EJP. There is a 30-day clock for those appeals. In the provinces, PRT contacts reported a range of reactions to the De-Ba'athification debate, but no reports that voters planned to boycott the March 7 election. END SUMMARY. AJC SENDS THIRD LIST -------------- ¶2. (C) PM Maliki told the Ambassador January 19 that he was upset by the entire de-Ba'athification crisis, in which in his view a wide range of political players had claimed to be acting in a constitutional and democratic manner, but were in 
fact undermining the constitution and Iraq's democracy. He expressed support for the plan proposed by ISCI/Badr bloc leader Hadi al-Ameri, which he said would lead to the establishment January 20 of a new de-Ba'athification committee -- one with statutory authority -- that will reduce the number of people on the list of some 500 names, confirm determinations for clear-cut Ba'athists, and postpone some "hard" cases for post-election vetting. Maliki claimed that leaders of the major party blocs had expressed support for this approach. Vice President Hashemi told the Ambassador earlier in the afternoon about a different approach with the Presidency Council (PC) meeting January 20 to declare that the Ahmed Chalabi-led Accountability and Justice Commission (AJC) does not have the statutory required for the actions it has taken in the past two weeks. According to the PM this approach would be slower than al-Amiri's solution since the PC decision would need affirmation by the Federal Supreme Court to be binding. SRSG Melkert in a subsequent meeting with Ambassador expressed support for both these approaches and urged that pressure be maintained to ensure the Iraqi Qand urged that pressure be maintained to ensure the Iraqi political players found the political courage to follow through. (Details of these meetings to be reported septel.) ¶3. (C) The Accountability and Justice Commission (AJC) sent revised lists of candidates and political parties recommended under de-Ba'athification to the Election Commission late in the evening of January 18, and a handful of additions (and one deletion) on January 19. The latest guidance from the AJC recommends excluding 514 names, including MP Salih Mutlaq and his brother Jasin; Defense Minister Abd al-Qadir al Mufrigi al-Ubaidy and Thafer Al-Ani, the head of DPM Raf'e al-Issawi's National Future Gathering entity. (NOTE: There continues to be dispute about whether the name on the list is the Defense Minister's or that of another candidate with a similar name. END NOTE.) MP Dr. Nada Mohammed Ibrahim al-Jabouri told poloff that 72 members of Salih Mutlaq's coalition, Iraqiyya, are included on AJC's De-Ba'athification candidate list. Omar Hegel al-Jabouri told poloff that 15-16 names from the Tawafuq coalition are also on the list. (Note: The AJC also sent an updated recommendation to IHEC to remove 9 political entities, but IHEC plans to take no action on that request. End Note.) ¶4. (C) According to IHEC Commissioner Judge Qasim al-Aboudi, the IHEC Board of Commissioners decided January 19 to disqualify all names put forward by the AJC. At the same time, the Board determined that, under its mandate, IHEC is not required to publish the names of those excluded in the newspapers as they once planned. Instead, IHEC officials made phone calls January 19 to the political entities with candidates affected by the decision, and also prepared written notifications for those affected. The UNAMI electoral assistance chief, Sandra Mitchell, reported to poloff that on January 19 party representatives began to visit IHEC offices in Baghdad and in each of the provinces to pick up the De-Ba'athifcation notices. APPEALS PROCESSES SET TO BEGIN -------------- ¶5. (C) Starting January 20, the three-day window to appeal IHEC's decision to the Electoral Judicial Panel (EJP) will begin, and parties can act to replace candidates on their lists during this time frame. Commissioner Judge Qasim told poloff that candidates who wish to challenge the de-Ba'athfication decision would be best served through the seven-judge Cassation Chamber formed to address AJC appeals. Judge Qasim argued that the EJP would not be able to change IHEC's determinations because IHEC is obliged to implement the law. He added that he thought the AJC panel would be able to act quickly, noting that the seven judges would likely be able to address any de-Ba'athification decisions within just a few weeks - well under the maximum allowed time frame totaling 90 days. ¶6. (C) Judge Qasim emphasized to poloff that IHEC has to follow the law, and "they have no choice." He asserted that the judiciary system is a vital part of Iraq's democracy, and now Iraq's courts must be permitted to exercise their authority. He explained that the judges would act quickly and even group similar cases together for faster resolution, citing the example of the Electoral Judicial Panel decisions on election complaints after the January 2009 provincial elections. Qasim noted that three of the AJC panel's judges are the same judges that would serve on the Electoral Judicial Panel; later UNAMI advisor Sandra Mitchell confirmed this point. She predicted to poloff that IHEC would receive few appeals and likely no more than 10% of the total list of removed candidates. Mitchell also commented that candidates may opt to file appeals with both the EJP and the ACJ appeals panel; she noted that UNAMI plans to meet with the EJP judges within the next 1-2 days to clarify the appeals time line and procedures. IHEC MOVES FORWARD WITH BALLOTS, PROCEDURES -------------- ¶7. (C) UNAMI Electoral Advisor Sandra Mitchell told poloff that IHEC would begin printing the ballots (through a firm in Dubai) within the next 24 hours. She explained that further decisions on de-Ba'athification would not affect the names of political entities and coalitions printed on the ballots. Meanwhile, IHEC continues to await further recommendations of candidate qualifications from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Higher Education, the State Ministry of Security and the Ministry of the Interior. VIEWS FROM THE PROVINCES -------------- ¶8. (C) In the provinces, PRT contacts reported a range of reactions to the de-Ba'athification debate, but no reports that voters planned to boycott the March 7 election. -- Provincial Council contacts in Baghdad and Kirkuk told Q-- Provincial Council contacts in Baghdad and Kirkuk told PRToffs that the public views the AJC process as questionable, and expects the U.S. to ensure the candidate review process is fair and democratic. The chair of the Tarmiyah District Council in North Baghdad, Qasim Khalifa, a Sunni running for the COR, told EPRT that the de-ba,ath list had little to do with de-baathification and "everything to do with politics" in order to undermine support for Mutlaq. He observed, however, that it would not affect voter turnout. -- The Chair of the Taji District Council, Lazim Abbas (Shi,a),said that it was good news that candidates who were removed had two avenues of appeal available to them, and thus the AJC list is just following the "normal course of the IHEC process." -- Sheikh Abdullah Sami told Kirkuk PRT Team Leader that instituting a de-Ba'athification review 6 years after the fall of the regime seems like score-settling, rather than a legally mandated process. Sami, a locally influential leader, says that this issue is tipping the balance of influence in Kirkuk toward extremist Sunni Arabs, who believe that the U.S. supports a Shi,a-led De-Ba'athification regime, and who were already on edge because they thought that the U.S. had taken the Kurdish side in the Article 140 debate. -- Anbar PRT Team Leader met Acting Governor and local police and security leaders for lunch; they noted that most Anbaris were discouraged by what they characterized as the Prime Minister,s move to spoil their democracy. The PRT believes this will feed local concerns about disproportionate Iranian influence and manipulation in Iraq. -- Ninewa PRT assesses that mainstream politicians in Ninewa are unlikely to organize an election boycott. Local politicians were unlikely to repeat actions that created the self-imposed isolation that followed the 2004 Sunni boycott of the provincial election and the ongoing Kurdish boycott of the Provincial Council. -- PRT Muthanna noted that the major Shi'a political actors in that province have avoided voicing a public opinion about De-Ba'athification. Sheikh Abu Chaffat, a local businessman, told PRToff that moderate Sunnis should be able to run and the people should be able to decide through the ballot -- but that he could not publicly state these complaints for fear of been labeled pro-Ba,athist. HILL