US embassy cable - 05AMMAN150

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 000150 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/06/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: SYMBOLIC PARLIAMENTARY RESOLUTION AGAINST IRAQI 
VOTER REGISTRATION CAMPAIGN 
 
REF: 04 AMMAN 09898 
 
Classified By: CDA David Hale for Reasons 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
1.  (C) Summary.  The International Organization for 
Migration (IOM) has started a voter registration media 
campaign for Iraqis in Jordan with the placement of 
billboards and posters throughout Amman.  The Lower House of 
Parliament adopted a symbolic resolution January 5 against 
the electoral propaganda, alleging that it amounted to 
"interference in the internal affairs of another country." 
Foreign Minister al-Mulki and Royal Court Minister Rifai told 
Charge they were outraged at Parliament's action and that 
Interior Minister Habashneh would firmly rebut the 
non-binding resolution at Parliament's next session on 
January 10.  Action request para 5.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (C) Richard Scott, project manager for the Out-of-Country 
Voting (OCV) Program in Jordan run by the International 
Organization for Migration, confirmed to PolOff that his 
office had successfully launched a media campaign encouraging 
Iraqis to register to vote with the placement of billboards 
and posters around Amman.  The OCV office concentrated voter 
registration posters in areas it believed housed large 
numbers of Iraqis, while billboards were distributed 
throughout the city.  Scott said that radio and TV 
advertisements would follow shortly.  He noted that he had 
heard of criticism of OCV registration of Iraqis in Jordan, 
but had not encountered any complaints directly. 
 
3.  (C) The OCV posters and billboards became the focus of a 
heated debate in Parliament January 5.  MP Nariman Rousan 
(East Banker, Irbid - 5th Dist.) was the first to condemn the 
media campaign on the Lower House floor, alleging that it 
could transfer the armed struggle in Iraq into Jordan. 
Rousan, a woman whose businessman brother was killed in Iraq 
in July 2004 under mysterious circumstances, also complained 
that electoral registration and campaigning by Iraqis in 
Jordan was not authorized under Jordanian law.  Several 
prominent MPs quickly jumped on the bandwagon, including head 
of the Legal Committee Ghaleb Zubi (East Banker, Balqa - 1st 
Dist.) and Abdul Kareem Dughmi ((East Banker, Mafraq), who 
heads a loose coalition that includes roughly 50 MPs.  The 
Lower House eventually approved, by a large majority, a 
symbolic resolution (which is not binding on the government) 
calling for the removal of electoral propaganda and declaring 
the OCV media campaign "an interference in the internal 
affairs of another country."  Afterwards, some MPs told Pol 
FSN privately that they and others voted for the resolution 
primarily out of fear that the registration drive could 
attract the wrath of violent Iraqi insurgents, rather than 
out of opposition to the scheduled Iraqi elections. 
 
4.  (C) On the margins of a January 5 dinner hosted by King 
Abdullah, Foreign Minister al-Mulki and Royal Court Minister 
Samir Rifai expressed their outrage to Charge over the 
parliamentary resolution and pledged full GOJ support for the 
OCV program in Jordan.  They stated that Parliament had no 
authority to intervene on this issue and promised that 
Interior Minister Habashneh would mount a vigorous rebuttal 
at Parliament's next session on January 10. 
 
5.  (C) At the same dinner, the King endorsed -- subject to 
our views -- an off-the-cuff proposal by FM Mulki to explore 
having IOM set up voting facilities on the Jordanian side of 
the Iraq/Jordan border, and bringing Sunnis across to vote in 
the safety of Jordan.  Mulki said Jordan could waive 
immigration formalities, relying on voter ID cards for 
identification.  Charge welcomed ideas to boost Sunni 
participation, but cautioned that security risks involved in 
transporting Iraqis to Jordan could be problematic. 
Department guidance appreciated. 
 
6.  (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
HALE