US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD4932

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 004932 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/11/2015 
TAGS: PNAT, PGOV, PTER, KDEM, IZ, Elections 
SUBJECT: ELECTION PREPARATIONS APPEAR ON TRACK - SPECIAL 
VOTING TO BEGIN DECEMBER 12 
 
Classified By: Classified by Political Counselor Robert Ford for 
reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY. With days to go until the 
December 15 election and despite the absence of several 
IECI Commissioners on Out-of-Country Voting (OCV) travel, 
preparations for domestic election preparations are 
well on track.  Special voting for detainee, hospital, 
and Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) voters is expected to 
occur on December 12 as planned.  Ballot materials, 
staff, and security are in place to support this early 
voting, and are on schedule for general voting on 
December 15. Of particular note has been the surge in 
IECI media events educating the public about voting. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
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SPECIAL VOTING COMING SOON 
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2. (SBU) Special voting for ISF, detainees, and 
hospitalized voters will take place on December 12. 
The IECI estimates that over 250,000 voters will be 
accorded the opportunity to vote at 257 special 
polling locations.  Of these, IECI estimates that over 
200,000 are ISF voters, approximately 22,000 are 
eligible detainee voters, and over 19,000 hospitalized 
voters.  These voters will use the national ballot, 
which lists over 200 political entities and is three 
pages long.  Although the IECI's publicity office has 
developed special voting posters and pamphlets to 
illustrate how to use this 3-page national ballot, it 
is conceivable that confusion could still occur.  ISF 
voters also have the opportunity to forgo voting on 
December 12 in favor of voting in their home 
governorate on December 15. 
 
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LOGISTICS ON TRACK 
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3. (C) On December 7, CEO Adil Allami told PolOff that 
ballot delivery was on schedule, security logistics 
were in place, and training for polling day staff 
would begin on December 8.  Allami added that planning 
for Anbar was firming up, with a planned 154 polling 
centers and 800 guest workers (flown in to Anbar by 
the IECI) to supplement local staff.  Later that 
evening, PolOff spoke briefly with UN/IECI operational 
planner Jodie Clark who confirmed that logistical 
preparations for the elections were well underway and 
proceeding as planned.  Delivery of polling station 
kits to governorate warehouses are expected to be 
completed on December 10 and ready for distribution to 
polling centers on December 13 as planned.  She told 
PolOff that the biggest logistical hurdle had been 
moving up preparations for the special voting 
materials and logistics, but that preparations for 
December 12 were complete. 
 
4. (C) Over the past few days, CEO Allami, the 
International Elections Assistance Team (IEAT), and 
IECI press conferences have given PolOffs an overall 
picture of the election preparation status. Specific 
topics are listed below. 
 
-MATERIAL SECURITY: The IEAT reports that AEGIS 
warehouse security teams have deployed to governorates 
in preparation for the arrival of polling materials. 
Iraqi Army units are supplementing security oversight 
during the delivery of the ballots until Iraqi Police 
are fully in place. To date, ballot material 
deliveries have been made to Dahuk, Salahadin, Ninewa, 
Baghdad East, Baghdad West, Muthanna, and Qadissiya. 
 
-OBSERVERS: The IECI has decided to extend the 
accreditation deadline to December 10.  It has 
accredited over 182,000 political entity agents and 
81,000 observers across 18 governorates to date. 
Domestic and international observers will also be 
present at Camp Abu Ghraib, Bucca, and Susse detention 
facilities. 
 
-CANDIDATE LISTS: The IECI has published the certified 
candidate lists on its website.  In a December 4 press 
release, the IECI tempered this release by stating 
that reserves the right to disqualify candidates in 
the future if need be. 
 
-STAFF: Polling day staff have been hired and 
allocated to each polling station.  Training for 
governorate and district level staff has been 
completed, with polling center staff training on- 
going.  On December 5, CEO Allami confirmed to PolOff 
that the IECI would be switching inspectors from 
different governorates in order to diminish the 
possibility of attempted fraud. 
 
 
5. (SBU) The IECI has been conducting a wide array of 
media events ranging from press conferences, outreach 
events with political entities, and TV and newspaper 
interviews.  CEO Allami, Commissioner Hindawi, and 
Commissioner Sidqi have given press interviews almost 
daily over the past week on topics ranging from De- 
ba'athification to voting procedures.  On December 8, 
the IECI held an outreach session in its tally center 
for political party representatives serving as 
monitors during the elections.  Chief Electoral 
Officer Adil Allami, who headed this briefing, told 
PolOff later that day that the event was heavily 
attended, and discussions ranged from the complaints 
procedures to compensatory seats. 
 
6. (U) In a December 8 press conference, Commissioner 
Safwat Sidqi briefed the media on general election day 
information.  In addition to giving a general overview 
of elections preparations, Sidqi urged political 
entities and the public to discourage campaign 
violence and general unfair campaign practices such as 
the tearing down of posters. The IECI expects to 
continue conducting press interviews daily as well as 
distributing multiple press releases, many of which 
will discourage campaign violence and intimidation. 
 
KHALILZAD