IRAQ: ATTEMPTS TO BAR CANDIDATES FROM

C O N F I D E N T I A L COPENHAGEN 000041 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA-I/POL:WCAVNESS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/25/2020 TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM IZ DA SUBJECT: IRAQ: ATTEMPTS TO BAR CANDIDATES FROM PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS REF: STATE 5980 Classified By: Ambassador Laurie S. Fulton; reason 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (U) ACTION REQUEST - please see paragraph 4. ¶2. (C) Denmark shares USG concern about attempts to bar candidates from upcoming Iraqi parliamentary elections, according to MFA Mideast Department Section Heads Stig Paolo Piras and Kristian Rasmussen. In response to reftel demarche, they told A/DCM January 25 that their diplomats in Baghdad are coordinating closely with the U.S. and UNAMI. Denmark agrees that transparency is needed; this issue could jeopardize the election, whose success is important to us all. Piras remarked that the more sources deliver a consistent message, the more likely the Iraqis are to listen. The EU's response, he added, would have been more forceful if not for the uncertainty surrounding the issue: a Reuters report January 21 claims more Shia than Sunni candidates are on the list of 500 recommended for disqualification. ¶3. (C) Piras said Denmark is one of 16 countries that the GOI has approached to help with out-of-country voting, and to which it has presented a proposed MOU. (There are an estimated 20-25,000 Iraqis in Denmark.) According to Denmark's information, no country plans to sign the MOU (in Denmark certain elements would violate the law, e.g. regarding privacy). That said, the Danes do intend to provide support as they did in the 2005 elections, e.g. a police presence for security, and help with getting the word out to eligible voters. Piras said it would be very helpful to know the USG's approach to the Iraqi request. ¶4. (U) Action requested: any information the Department can provide that we can share with MFA in response to the query in paragraph 3. FULTON