This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

162134Z Dec 05

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 OTTAWA 003697 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: IZ CA KDEM KPAO PREL PGOV
SUBJECT: CANADA ISSUES STRONG STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR 
IRAQI PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 
 
REF: SECSTATE 225860 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Government of Canada has issued a very 
strong statement of support for Iraq's Parliamentary 
Elections.  Text is carried in para 4.  The Ambassador has 
and will continue to cite the elections as a positive 
development in his public appearances.  In addition, 
Elections Canada, which led the International Mission for 
Iraqi Elections (IMIE), has praised the way in which the 
elections were conducted.  Its statement is contained in 
para. 5.  End Summary 
 
¶2. (SBU) Elections Canada head Jean Pierre Kingsley called 
the Embassy December 15 in the afternoon to report back from 
his election monitoring teams in Amman and Baghdad.  Kingsley 
said the IMIE was able to successfully tie in the EU team and 
other national and independent monitors and believe this will 
yield an even more thorough review than in the previous 
round.  In general, Kingsley said that the monitoring was 
going smoothly and the election itself appeared to be the 
best organized yet.  With 3 hours to go he reported 50% 
turnout, and expected the end of the day total turnout to be 
60-70%, with substantial Sunni participation.  He reported 
some problems in the north with distribution of voting 
materials, and a slow opening in Fallujah, but overall less 
violence than in the past.  Kingsley said that his observers 
will be participating in extensive media events later in the 
day, and he was pressing for a strong statement of support by 
the Arab League and other observer groups. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Ambassador called Kingsley to congratulate him on 
December 16 and Kingsley was very appreciative of the 
recognition.  Ambassador will publicly praise the involvement 
of the Government of Canada in leading this very successful 
monitoring effort.  Any statements by Department officials to 
this end would also be appreciated by the Government of 
Canada and would help to maintain Canadian involvement in the 
next phase of the electoral process in Iraq, building an 
indigenous capacity, something Canada has expressed an 
interest in actively supporting. 
 
¶4. (U) Statements by the GOC and Elections Canada are 
included below: 
 
Text of Statement by the Government of Canada on Iraq's 
Parliamentary Elections: 
 
Begin Text: 
 
The Government of Canada today issued the following statement 
on the election of the Council of Representatives in Iraq: 
 
We wish to offer our congratulations to the people of Iraq on 
their participation in this election, whether from their 
homeland or from one of the 15 countries, including Canada, 
where they were able to vote. 
 
We are pleased to note the positive preliminary assessment of 
the organization and conduct of the polling, carried out by 
the International Mission for Iraqi Elections (IMIE) led by 
Jean-Pierre Kingsley, Chair of the IMIE and Chief Electoral 
Officer of Canada.  Although some issues will merit further 
review, early indications are that the elections were fair 
overall. This election marks the final step in Iraq's 
transition to democracy, as specified in June 2004 by the 
United Nations Security Council. 
 
We praise the courage demonstrated by voters and candidates 
throughout the various stages of Iraq's transition to 
democracy. Despite the high level of personal risk involved, 
the citizens of Iraq proved their commitment to democratic 
change. Thanks to their determination, Iraqis will have a 
democratically elected government derived from their own 
constitution, which was endorsed in a referendum last October. 
 
We are particularly pleased to note that Iraqis from all 
regions, including provinces with a Sunni Arab majority, have 
participated in this election, and that the new electoral 
system ensures a fair representation of Iraq's minorities. 
This should provide the new Iraqi government with the 
broad-based representation and enhanced legitimacy it needs 
to further develop a national consensus on the future of Iraq. 
 
Canada will continue to assist the Iraqi government in its 
efforts to implement the new constitution and to build 
democratic and effective governing institutions, in 
collaboration with the United Nations and the international 
community. In 2003, Canada established a $300-million 
development fund to assist in the reconstruction of Iraq, to 
be disbursed by the end of 2010.  End Text 
 
¶5. (U) Text of Preliminary Assessment of Iraqi Referendum by 
the International Mission for Iraqi Elections (IMIE); Amman, 
Jordan, October 15, 2005 
Begin Text: 
 
The International Mission for Iraqi Elections (IMIE) has been 
meeting in Amman, Jordan, to review preliminary assessments 
on the preparations for and conduct of the Iraqi 
constitutional referendum. These preliminary assessments are 
based on information prepared for the IMIE by international 
electoral experts, and on reports from the IMIE field office 
in Iraq, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and domestic 
observer groups. The IMIE will further analyze these reports 
and assessments, and will publish its findings on the IMIE 
Web site (www.imie.ca) and provide them to the Independent 
Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI). 
 
These preliminary assessments and observations indicate that 
the IECI has made significant operational improvements since 
the January 2005 elections. 
 
"The IMIE is encouraged by these assessments. They have 
highlighted that, despite the tremendous security risks and 
obvious logistical difficulties which exist in Iraq, the IECI 
has developed and implemented a referendum process that 
generally conforms to internationally recognized electoral 
standards. These include the legal framework, planning, 
procedures and logistics," said Paul Dacey, Vice-Chair of the 
IMIE Steering Committee and Deputy Electoral Commissioner 
from the Australian Electoral Commission. 
 
"The IECI is to be congratulated on its tremendous 
achievements, as it continues building the necessary 
foundations to ensure the progress of democracy in Iraq, 
particularly given the short time frames and extremely 
difficult circumstances facing Iraq in this period of 
transition," added Dr. Zoltan Toth, fellow IMIE Steering 
Committee member and Secretary-General of the Association of 
Central and Eastern European Election Officials. 
 
The IMIE's early assessments identify the many positive 
aspects of today's referendum, including the extent and 
quality of the IECI's overall planning and operations, the 
updating of the voters register and the voter education 
initiatives that were established. 
 
Farouq Al-Amad, General Coordinator, Arab Commission for 
Civil Society, League of Arab States, said that he "welcomed 
the continued involvement of the IMIE in the process in Iraq 
and for its ongoing assistance as Iraq heads toward the 
national election in December. The IMIE adds an important 
dimension to the processes of openness, transparency and 
coordination." 
 
"The courage and personal resolve of the people of Iraq to 
turn out to vote in such large numbers, particularly in the 
face of such personal risks and threats is nothing but 
admirable," said Mr. Dacey. 
 
The IMIE preliminary reports stressed that the IECI has been 
under significant pressure to manage three electoral events 
within a period of one year. In many countries with 
long-established democratic institutions, such a major 
undertaking would be a significant, perhaps insurmountable 
challenge. The IMIE congratulates the IECI for its ability to 
perform under demanding time frames, difficult security 
conditions and close scrutiny by the international community. 
 
The IMIE would also like to acknowledge the professionalism 
of the IECI in reacting to procedural issues as they arose 
during the day. 
 
The IMIE views the upcoming December 15 elections for the 
Iraqi National Assembly as a crucial step forward in the 
democratic electoral process in Iraq and looks forward to the 
continuation of its advisory role to the IECI. 
End Text 
 
Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa 
 
WILKINS