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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDM #0174/01 0591434
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 281434Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7441
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 000174 
 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON FOR MILLER; PARIS FOR NOBLES 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2020 
TAGS: KDEM PHUM PREF PREL SOCI SY IZ
SUBJECT: REFUGEE VOTING: IRAQI ELECTORAL COMMISSION RUSHES 
TO GET THE WORD OUT 
 
REF: A. DAMASCUS 170 
     ¶B. DAMASCUS 77 
     ¶C. DAMASCUS 57 
     ¶D. STATE 17254 
 
Classified By: CDA Charles Hunter for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: With five days remaining before Iraqi 
refugees in Syria begin voting, officials at the Damascus 
office of the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission 
(IHEC) told us February 28 they were rushing to train 
election staff and get the word out in advance of the March 
5-7 voting.  IHEC officials said plans were proceeding on 
schedule to open polling sites in Damascus, Aleppo, and Homs. 
 Iraqi electoral officials praised cooperation by the SARG in 
making logistical arrangements for the voting, but stressed 
they remained on guard for any efforts to improperly 
influence the voting.  While Iraqi Embassy officials 
continued to express confusion over whether Iraqi refugees 
would be voting for a specific number of seats set aside for 
"out of country" Iraqis or vote as if they were living in 
their home provinces, IHEC officials clarified Iraqi refugees 
would now vote for candidates contesting seats in their home 
provinces.  END SUMMARY. 
 
"ON SCHEDULE": IHEC OPENS DAMASCUS OFFICE 
 
¶2. (C) IHEC officials told us February 28 they were confident 
logistical arrangements for Iraqi refugees voting in the 
upcoming legislative elections were proceeding on schedule. 
Providing emboff a tour of IHEC's Syria office, which 
recently opened on one of Damascus' main thoroughfares, Iraqi 
electoral officials pointed to the high level of activity in 
the building as evidence preparations were well underway. 
Three IHEC officials arrived from Baghdad earlier this month 
to administer the elections for the hundreds of thousands of 
Iraqi refugees residing in Syria.  According to Haider Zaidi, 
who runs the office, "Everything is going well, thank God." 
 
¶3. (C) Zaidi's deputy, Esam Abdul Aziz Ibrahim, told us IHEC 
is using the final days before voting to train election staff 
and get the word out to Iraqi refugees.  Ibrahim said IHEC 
has employed 1,000 Iraqis living in Syria to staff polling 
places in Damascus, Aleppo, and Homs, and 25 Iraqis were 
manning IHEC's Damascus office.  The Iraqi Embassy informed 
us last week the SARG refused IHEC requests to open 
additional polling sites in the northeastern cities of 
Qamishli and Hassaka (ref. A).  Ibrahim conceded the exact 
number of polling sites remained in flux, but said IHEC 
estimated between 30 and 50 polling stations would be opened 
in Syria.  Ibrahim stressed IHEC was independent from the 
Iraqi Embassy and Iraqi political parties campaigning in 
Syria, and was receiving logistical but not financial support 
from the SARG. 
 
¶4. (C) IHEC officials said training courses were taking place 
daily for election staff.  Ibrahim showed Emboff and two 
staff members a sample ballot for Baghdad province, 
explaining how voters would make their choices on election 
day.  Iraqis will have to show two forms of identification, 
including proof of Iraqi citizenship, and would be able to 
register to vote on site.  "It really is not that difficult 
to understand the process once we understand the ballots," 
one staffer opined, noting the large number of candidates 
listed on the ballot.  "We have no doubt all our 1,000 staff 
will be sufficiently trained before the voting starts," 
Ibrahim concluded. 
 
VOTER TURNOUT: GETTING THE WORD OUT 
 
5.(C) Ibrahim said informing the hundreds of thousands of 
Iraqis living in Syria about election day details was a 
challenge.  IHEC is using satellite television, 
advertisements, billboards, radio, and local newspapers to 
inform Iraqis about the location of polling sites.  In 
addition, in cooperation with Syriatel, IHEC will send out on 
March 1 an SMS with information about the voting to each 
Syriatel customer who identified themselves as Iraqi when 
they registered for their mobile phone service.  He said the 
office had conducted spot checks of Iraqi refugee communities 
to ascertain whether they were aware the elections were 
taking place, and concluded most refugees knew the dates of 
the voting.  "But we still need to make sure they know where 
to go to vote," he noted. 
 
6.(C) IHEC staffers conceded confusion had surrounded some of 
the details about the method being used to allocate "out of 
country" votes.  The Iraqi Embassy told us last month "out of 
country" voters would select candidates for 15 seats being 
allocated to Iraqis living outside the country (reftels). 
 
Ibrahim acknowledged this had previously been the assumption, 
but clarified that Iraqi refugees now will vote for 
candidates in their home provinces.  "We will see where each 
voter, based on their identification, was born, and they will 
be given a ballot for their province.  There will be no 
difference in the way a voter inside or outside Iraq votes," 
he explained. 
 
MONITORING THE VOTING 
 
¶7. (C) Journalists, NGOs, and several European observers will 
officially monitor the voting, according to IHEC officials. 
During his conversation with emboff, Ibrahim approved the 
credentials of a French journalist.  "It's very important to 
us that journalists see that the voting is fair," Ibrahim 
stated.  Iraqi electoral officials said the Arab League, the 
United Nations, and the International Foundation for 
Electoral Systems (IFES) will be among the monitors.  In 
addition, international observers from Romania, Germany, and 
Sweden will also participate.  "We are focusing on 
transparency," an IHEC staffer stressed.  Ibrahim praised 
SARG cooperation in assisting IHEC with logistical 
arrangements for the voting, but said his office remained on 
guard for any attempts to improperly influence the voting. 
 
PREDICTING VOTER TURNOUT 
 
¶8. (C) IHEC officials said it was "impossible" to predict 
voter turnout among Iraqis in Syria.  "We don't even know the 
exact number of people here.  But the important thing is our 
doors are open, we are ready, and any Iraqi who wants to vote 
is welcome," Ibrahim declared.  Acknowledging that only 
30,000 Iraqis in Syria voted in the last parliamentary 
elections, an IHEC staffer said if 50% turned out "we would 
be amazed."  Representatives of several NGOs working with 
Iraqi refugees predicted low turnout due to voter apathy 
(ref. A). 
 
¶9. (C) COMMENT: With just a few days remaining before the 
March 5-7 balloting in Syria, IHEC's planning has overcome a 
time-compressed deadline and significant logistical 
obstacles.  As IHEC and Iraqi Embassy staff acknowledge, SARG 
cooperation has been a key factor in successful preparations 
thus far.  The SARG may have its own reasons for encouraging 
the largely Sunni Iraqi refugee community to participate, 
particularly if they vote as expected against Prime Minister 
Maliki's political allies.  IHEC appears on track to meeting 
its goal of adequately training the nearly 1,000 employees 
who will staff the polling places.  Getting the word out and 
stimulating voter turnout remains a more difficult challenge. 
 So long as a significant minority of Iraqi refugees turns 
out to vote and the elections remain free of widespread 
irregularities, IHEC is likely to declare victory in its task 
of facilitating voting in the country with the largest number 
of Iraqi refugees.  END COMMENT. 
 
HUNTER