US embassy cable - 05HILLAH367

C O N F I D E N T I A L HILLAH 000367 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  12/12/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, IZ, PDEM, Electoral Commision, Elections 
SUBJECT: DIWANIYAH IECI HEAD PREPARED FOR FRAUD ACCUSATIONS 
 
REF: HILLAH 0361 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: ALFRED FONTENEAU, REGIONAL COORDINATOR, REO, 
AL-HILLAH, STATE. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
1. (C) Summary: Diwaniyah Independent Electoral Commission of 
Iraq Head Saad Madhloom told REO Al-Hillah staff in a December 7 
meeting that he was staffing provincial polling sites to prepare 
for allegations of fraud from partisans of Iyad Allawi's 
National Iraqi List (ballot number 731.) Madhloom said that all 
of his administrative and logistical preparations for the 
December 15 election were complete, but reported that the 
intensity of the current campaign, in which tearing down posters 
had become "natural in every province," could dangerously 
escalate sectarian tensions. End summary. 
 
2. (C) Madhloom, a highly respected election official often sent 
to other provinces to troubleshoot their election procedures, 
said that the current election was a "critical situation." The 
existence in Diwaniyah of 68 coalitions running 375 candidates, 
Madhloom related, meant that guaranteeing a free and fair 
election was profoundly difficult. Each coalition has the right 
to place an observer in each polling station, Madhloom reported, 
meaning that with election workers and others, as many as 100 
Iraqis could be inside a polling station at a given time, not 
counting voters. "The fact is we can't prevent [the presence of 
the observers,]" Madhloom related. "At the same time we expect 
that this will cause many troubles." 
 
3. (C) Of particular concern, according to Madhloom, were 
reports that Allawi partisans would attempt to entrap IECI 
workers in fraud. He said that he had heard that 731 voters 
would enter polling stations claiming to be illiterate, and ask 
the worker to help them vote for the Allawi list. When the IECI 
representative surreptitiously marked a vote for the rival 
United Iraqi Alliance (UIA, ballot number 555), the Allawi voter 
would cry foul. Another version would have the partisan simply 
asking the IECI worker to check the 555 box, and then crying 
foul, the partisan claiming that he had wanted to vote 731. 
Madhloom said that to counter this eventuality, he was assigning 
three workers at each ballot box to witness votes cast by 
illiterate voters. 
 
4. (C) In spite of his concerns, Madhloom reported that he was 
prepared for the elections in every possible way. The security 
plan was in place, he reported, and he predicted a safe and 
secure election, although he did repeat a familiar complaint 
that the local security forces had appropriated many of his 
"T-wall" and "jersey" barriers, barbed wire, and other 
protective equipment. He said that his staff had prepared their 
own updated alphabetical voter registration lists, in response 
to widespread problems caused by unalphabetized lists in the 
October 15 referendum. And he offered that newly-registered 
voters would be permitted to visit their polling sites for three 
days prior to the vote to insure that they were registered. This 
step, which he said the Baghdad IECI had authorized, was 
intended to eliminate any confusion and delays on polling day. 
 
5. (C) Although he evinced satisfaction with his role in the 
election preparation, Madhloom shared his grave concerns about 
the conduct of the campaigns. There were "many unacceptable 
actions," he related, citing the universal tearing down of rival 
campaign posters. "This has become a natural thing in every 
province," he maintained. Madhloom also mentioned the shooting 
of an Allawi worker hanging posters and a grenade attack on 
another Allawi office, both in the West Diwaniyah town of 
Shamiya (reftel.) Madhloom lamented the harsh sectarian tone of 
campaigns nationwide, and described pro-Sunni literature calling 
the Shi'a "Iranians" and pro-Shi'a pamphlets branding the Sunni 
"Wahabbis." "It's turned into a sectarian war," he observed. 
FONTENEAU