US embassy cable - 05AMMAN713

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000713 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM, ASEC, PREL, PGOV, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: IRAQ OUT-OF-COUNTRY VOTING GOES SMOOTHLY IN JORDAN 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 672 
 
     B. AMMAN 586 
     C. AMMAN 468 
     D. AMMAN 342 
     E. AMMAN 293 
 
1.  Out-of-country voting (OCV) in Jordan for the Iraq 
elections concluded on schedule at 1700 January 30. 
Official figures on total turnout will not be available 
until January 31 at the earliest.  However, the 
International Organization for Migration (IOM) 
organizers reported that 79 percent of those registered 
had voted by the end of the second day of polling 
January 29; we estimate January 30 voting will put the 
final turnout figure at about 90 percent of the 20,000 
Iraqis registered in Jordan. 
 
2.  Emboffs and FSNs visited eight of the fifteen 
polling centers in Jordan, and were struck by the 
good-humored atmosphere at all of them.  There were no 
security incidents.  We heard of only three attempts 
at fraud, each involving Iraqis who were caught 
attempting to vote a second time despite the inking 
of their fingers.  Concrete expressions of happiness 
and pride were evident: we witnessed many working 
class voters (including some assisted illiterates) 
beaming as they cast their ballots in one 
poor neighborhood; a voting supervisor at another 
location told us that the entire room was in tears 
after the first voter deposited her ballot on Friday 
morning.  Embassy observers were impressed by the 
professionalism of the IOM organizers and their staff. 
 
3.  The ethnic and religious makeup of those voting 
appeared mixed; although the majority of Iraqis in 
Jordan are probably Shia, we noted large numbers 
of Sunni Arab and Christian voters as well, and most 
poll workers we talked to (all Iraqis) believed 
the turnout was balanced. In addition to Iraqis 
resident in Jordan, several interlocutors told us 
about relatives or friends who had come to 
Jordan from Baghdad or elsewhere in Iraq in order 
to register and vote in "safe" Jordan.  We also 
met some Iraqi-Israeli voters who told us that they 
had used their Israeli passports as part 
of the OCV registration process, without incident. 
 
Iraqi Observer Comments 
----------------------- 
 
4.  Political party observers from the so-called 
Allawi and Sistani lists were present at several 
of the polling stations.  An observer for Allawi's 
list (which had observers at most stations), 
stressed to us that he was a supporter of an 
"independent" on the Allawi list, rather 
than Allawi or his party per se.  He and a 
circle around him agreed that, as almost 
all candidates really had the same goals -- 
security, stability, and prosperity -- most Iraqis 
feel it's safer to vote through a party list for 
a varied grouping of people who might restrain 
each other than for a single individual who might 
prove to be a loose cannon. 
 
5.  There was extensive international media 
coverage of the OCV process in Jordan.  Apart 
from Arabic-language networks including al-Jazeera 
and al-Arabiya, CNN, Japanese, British, and other 
television media were present near the 
voting centers.  We also noted the presence 
of NDI and EU observers. 
 
Iraqi Police School Voting 
-------------------------- 
 
6.  In addition to the fourteen OCV polling centers 
established for civilian Iraqis in Jordan, a 
fifteenth station was set up outside Amman at the 
Jordan International Police Training Center (JIPTC), 
a State/INL program that trains cadets for the new 
Iraqi security forces.  These voters were 
registered under a special regime, and IOM does not 
treat them as a part of the 20,000 OCV voters 
registered in Jordan.  As of the afternoon of Sunday, 
January 30, over 3,000 of a possible voting pool of 
about 3,100 Iraqi police cadets had voted.  As at 
the other polling stations, the voting process at 
the police school was professional, efficient, and 
good-spirited.  Despite the turnout, poll workers 
told us that more than half of the cadets voting 
on the first day expressed confusion as to what 
the election was about and what the different 
parties represented.  However, there less confusion 
on the successive two days, perhaps reflecting some 
ad hoc voter self-education. 
 
7.  Ballot boxes are being sealed and removed under 
guard to a central location in Amman, where vote 
counting in the presence of outside observers will 
begin at 0800 Monday, January 31.  An Embassy Amman 
observer will be present. 
 
8.  Baghdad minimize considered. 
HALE