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Diana T Fritz  08/27/2006 05:00:52 PM  From  DB/Inbox:  Search Results

Cable 
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UNCLAS        ABU DHABI 05080

SIPDIS
CXABU:
    ACTION: POL
    INFO:   MEPI P/M PAO RSO AMB DCM ECON

DISSEMINATION: POL
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: CDA:MRQUINN
DRAFTED: HRO:GLLAWSON
CLEARED: POL:JFMAYBURY

VZCZCADI726
PP RUEHC RUEHDE RUCNRAQ
DE RUEHAD #5080/01 3521223
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 181223Z DEC 05
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2801
INFO RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 5648
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 005080 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR S/I, NEA/I AND NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KDEM IZ AE
SUBJECT: IRAQI OVERSEAS VOTE IN THE UAE 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: Iraqis resident in the GCC countries voted 
in greater numbers in their country's parliamentary 
elections hosted by the UAE December 13-15 than in Iraq's 
January 2005 parliamentary elections.  The increase, from 
11,409 to 17,967, was due in part to a UAE decision to grant 
a visa waiver to allow non-UAE resident Iraqis to stay in 
the UAE for a short stay in order to both register and vote 
on the same day.  In January, non-UAE resident Iraqis were 
required to register to vote on one day, leave the country, 
and then return to the UAE several days later to vote.  The 
election, which took place amid tight security and under the 
supervision of international observers, went smoothly and 
was positively received by expatriate Iraqi voters.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The overseas portion of the December 13-15 
elections for Iraq's National Assembly was a success in the 
UAE, one of 15 countries outside Iraq that hosted elections. 
According to Mike Burke of the International Mission for 
Iraqi Elections, which coordinated the independent election 
observation,  "The UAE stepped up and made it happen.  They 
were a giant help last time and they were a giant help this 
time," Burke said of the outcome of the election procedures. 
According to Burke, 17,967 Iraqi expatriates voted over the 
three days in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with a heavier count in 
Dubai.  "Charter flights full of Iraqis from Doha and Muscat 
came here," he added.  Burke said the UAE's visa waiver 
decision was largely responsible for the increase in voter 
turnout.  Unlike the January election for Iraq's parliament, 
the December election allowed voters to register and vote on 
the same day.  The UAEG encouraged turnout by issuing a visa 
waiver so that Iraqis from other GCC states could come to 
the UAE for a short stay in order to vote.  Burke surmised 
that the increase may also have been due to the perception 
by some Iraqis that the December election was less "rigged" 
than the January one. 
 
  ¶3. (U) Preparations for the overseas Iraqi vote in the UAE 
took less than three weeks.  Election officials, using the 
experience gleaned from the January 2005 parliamentary 
election, were able to ensure that the December vote was 
conducted in a professional manner.  At the polling places 
themselves, the voting layout was consistent with general 
international standards and the local precinct elections 
were basically well run.  Few voters were turned away for 
inadequate documentation and there were no noteworthy 
incidents observed during the three days of monitoring.  The 
only constraint in the election process came from the 
central election center when a prohibition was issued 
restricting access by international observers to vote count 
information.  This restriction was eventually rescinded 
reestablishing transparency for the election. 
 
  ¶4. (SBU) An Emboff who monitored the election in Abu Dhabi 
observed that voters proceeded with an air of confidence in 
a voting environment not unlike a hospital clinic staffed by 
efficient, trained personnel.  Prior to casting their votes 
in the ballot box, voters had to dip their index fingers in 
blue ink.  Later, some of them proudly waved their ink- 
stained fingers, a symbol of their desire for a new 
government for their future.  The press carried such photos. 
 
  ¶5. (U) "Gulf News" reported that Iraqi electoral workers at 
the election center in Dubai refused to hand over some 
ballot boxes Friday because they had not been paid by the 
Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI).  An IECI 
official was called in to resolve the impasse and the boxes 
were handed over safely. 
 
¶6. (U) The UAE's role was significant.  Besides allowing 
visa waivers and furnishing election venues, the UAE 
provided a thorough security environment, and 
"international" observers (three Emiratis from the Chamber 
of Commerce and two from the MFA).  In addition to the 
Emirati observers, five embassies (Czech Republic, including 
the Chief of Mission for a half-day, the UK, Canada, Italy, 
and the U.S.), and seven Iraqi expatriates were on hand to 
monitor the proceedings.  (Note: There are approximately 
50,000 Iraqi expatriates in the UAE.  End note.) 
 
¶7. (U) At the Zayed Sports Complex in Abu Dhabi, there were 
seven voting precinct "stations" set up along a long hallway 
in the dressing rooms inside the stadium.  At the Global 
Village complex in Dubai, there were initially 18 voting 
stations, which were expanded to 20 on Wednesday night and 
Thursday.  The vote was scheduled to run from 0800 to 2000. 
Dubai extended the voting for a limited number of stations 
by two hours on Wednesday and Thursday. 
 
¶8. (U) In Abu Dhabi, the security arrangements required each 
voter to produce identification prior to being allowed entry 
into the sports complex.  The police performed thorough 
inspections of each vehicle entering the complex, employing 
mirrors and bomb-sniffing K-9 support.  Individual voters 
were required to have any packages x-rayed and pass through 
a magnetometer.  Specified parking was set aside for all 
vehicles well away from the stadium.  Voters were then 
required to proceed through a second security inspection and 
magnetometer screening prior to entering the actual voting 
area within the stadium. 
QUINN