US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD4436

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 004436 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PNAT, KDEM, IZ, Elections 
SUBJECT: UNAMI SUPPORTS OCTOBER 28 DEADLINE 
 
REF: BAGHDAD 4381 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Robert S. Ford for 
reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). 
 
1. (C) In an October 28 meeting with the Charge, SRSG 
Qazi and IECI international adviser Craig Jenness said 
they would press the Independent Electoral Commission 
of Iraq (IECI) to maintain the October 28 deadline for 
coalition registration and candidate lists.  Qazi and 
Jenness agreed that the October 28 date must be kept 
as a rigid deadline for coalition registration. 
Jenness noted that as a practical matter there could 
be a few days flexibility on submission of candidate 
lists.  However, he and Qazi agreed that the IECI must 
not be subjected to manipulation by parties that miss 
the deadline; the December 15 election date cannot be 
put in jeopardy. 
 
2. (C) Noting that Saleh al-Mutlak and other Sunni 
Arab hardliners have questioned the fairness of the 
referendum vote, Qazi reaffirmed that irregularities 
were not of a scale to have affected the outcome. 
Jenness said that the report of post-referendum audit 
teams (reftel) was being reviewed by the IECI 
commissioners and would be released October 29.  The 
UN officials agreed with the Charge that the IECI must 
be convincingly transparent and express readiness to 
hear complaints from all communities. 
 
3. (C) Qazi said that the findings of the audit report 
will provide important "lessons learned" for the 
December 15 election.  He said that it was important 
for the Iraqi public to feel confident that these 
lessons were being applied.  Qazi said that the audit 
report as well as the results of the review of the 
Kirkuk voter registration list should help deflate 
charges from Sunni Arab hardliners of sectarian bias 
at the IECI.  Qazi said that he had responded to 
sectarian critics of the IECI by noting that the 
Commission must be doing a good job since it was the 
object of complaints from all communities. 
Satterfield