US embassy cable - 05AMMAN785

UNCLAS AMMAN 000785 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, KDEM, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: KING UPBEAT ON IRAQI ELECTIONS; OCV BALLOT COUNT 
PROCEEDING 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 772 
 
     B. AMMAN 723 
     C. AMMAN 713 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  In a CNN interview, King Abdullah said he was "very 
pleased" with the Iraqi elections and expressed optimism for 
the future of Iraq and the region.  While he cautioned 
against Sunni marginalization, he dismissed claims that he 
was anti-Shia.  Local media carried the King's statements but 
overall reaction to the election was mixed, with many 
publications taking a wait-and-see attitude.  Over 92 percent 
of Iraqis registered in Jordan cast ballots -- but that was 
less than 10 percent of the highest estimated number of 
eligible voters here.  According to the International 
Organization for Migration (IOM), the counting of all votes 
cast abroad will be completed by February 3, with the results 
sent to the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) 
by February 5.  End Summary. 
 
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KING PRAISES ELECTIONS, LOCAL PRESS MORE CAUTIOUS 
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2.  During a live interview broadcast on CNN January 31 (and 
later quoted prominently in local press outlets), King 
Abdullah called the Iraqi elections "a very successful day" 
for the Iraqi people and said he was "very pleased" with the 
turnout.  By going to the polls, the King said that Iraqis 
had sent a message that they "were not going to let 
extremists or insurgents step in front of their future."  He 
further remarked that the elections had "set a good tone for 
the Middle East" and that he was "very optimistic" for the 
future.  The King added, however, that he believed the Sunnis 
still felt "marginalized" and he encouraged the new Iraqi 
government to "be inclusive to bring the Sunnis into the 
fold."  King Abdullah dismissed an allegation, sourced by the 
New York Times to an unnamed senior State Department 
official, that his past statements reflected "racist 
anti-Shia paranoia;" he said the Hashemite family has "a very 
special affinity for, and a very warm place in our hearts for 
all Shiites." 
 
3.  Coverage of the Iraqi elections has dominated the 
Jordanian media (refs a, b).  While some leading dailies 
lauded the Iraqi people for taking control of their future, 
most of the press took a more cautious approach.  Several 
columnists acknowledged that overall participation was higher 
than expected, but expressed doubt that the newly elected 
government would be a representative one given the lower 
Sunni participation.  Unusually, others, including prominent 
op-ed writers, gave their unqualified applause for what was 
described as a step toward self-government.  A few die-hard 
Arab nationalists rejected the elections as "a farce" 
designed to legitimize the U.S. "occupation." 
 
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OCV BALLOT COUNTING ON TRACK 
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4.  During a press conference January 31 in Amman, IOM OCV 
Director Peter Erben confirmed that 92.2 percent of Iraqis 
who had registered to vote in Jordan had cast ballots during 
the January 28-30 voting period (ref c).  Erben said that 
nearly 94 percent of those who had registered in the 
out-of-country voting program globally had gone to the polls, 
exceeding IOM expectations.  "It was truly an exercise in 
freedom and overall it went exceptionally well," he stated. 
(NOTE: The 20,166 Iraqis in Jordan who registered to vote 
constitute roughly 10 percent of the highest estimated number 
of eligible Iraqi voters here.  End note.) 
 
5.  Erben rejected criticism that the OCV registration drive 
somehow "fell short" because only 28 percent of the targeted 
pool of one million Iraqis worldwide actually registered. 
Stressing that he had spent fifteen years working on 
elections, he called the Iraqi OCV registration results 
"outstanding" in comparison to typical developed country 
overseas voting, which he claimed average around ten percent 
participation.  According to Erben, the IOM expects to 
complete the counting of ballots cast abroad by February 3 
and to send the results by February 5 to the IECI in Baghdad. 
 While some ballots were mismarked, Erben added that the IOM 
had "experienced no major discrepancy or problems." 
 
MINIMIZE CONSIDERED 
HALE