VZCZCXRO3768
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #3871/01 3461355
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 111355Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0798
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003871 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: ANBAR GEO HOLDS PRE-ELECTION TOWN HALL MEETING 
 
This message is Sensitive but Unclassified; handle 
accordingly.  Not for distribution on the Internet. 
 
¶1. (U) This is a PRT Anbar reporting cable. 
 
¶2. (U) SUMMARY:  Political leaders, candidates, and local 
notables attended a pre-election town hall meeting led by the 
Governorate Electoral Office (GEO) in Ramadi on December 4. 
The GEO called the meeting to discuss the rules and 
responsibilities of each entity during the campaign and on 
election day.  GEO officials also described the security of 
the polling stations and ballot boxes.  One indicator of 
Anbar's improved security:  no one brought up concerns about 
insurgent-led violence.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Establishing the Rules 
---------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) Nearly a hundred political leaders, candidates and 
notables assembled on December 4 at the Anbar Government 
Center in Ramadi for a pre-elections town-hall meeting. 
Khalid Rajab, the director of the Anbar Governorate Electoral 
Office (GEO), led a two-hour discussion in which he and other 
GEO officials described the roles and responsibilities of the 
political entities, observers and party agents for the 
January 31 provincial elections. 
 
¶4. (U) Khalid assured the assembly that the election will be 
transparent and that his office will not tolerate forgery and 
mud-slinging.  He urged candidates to campaign with gusto. 
He also reminded them that the campaign will be governed by 
Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) rules: 
candidates will not be allowed to use government vehicles, 
mosques or schools for campaigning; all parties need to 
refrain from election violence and respect others' opinions 
in the campaign.  Khalid added that any grievances should be 
adjudicated through the legal process. 
 
Manning the polling stations 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Khalid described the responsibilities of the 
registered party agents, who will staff election centers and 
who will be authorized to register complaints.  A committee 
comprised of IHEC lawyers would then adjudicate them.  Two 
election observers trained under IHEC guidelines will man 
each ballot station.  Although they cannot make official 
complaints, they will be able to bring discrepancies to the 
attention of poll workers and the media.  According to 
Khalid, Iraqi police will provide security outside the 
polling centers, and a vehicle curfew will be imposed the day 
of the elections and the day before. 
 
A Complex Ballot 
---------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Other GEO officials reviewed the election's ballot 
form by projecting an illustration of one onto a screen, and 
discussed the complex procedure of counting ballots and 
awarding seats.  According to the formula set by the 
Elections Law, Anbar's new Provincial Council will be 
comprised of 29 seats, fewer than the current 48 seats.  The 
complexity of the ballot caused some confusion among the 
attendees.  Wrapping up that discussion, one GEO official 
described a voter education campaign of workshops aimed at 
women, youth, religious and tribal audiences. 
 
Ballot Boxes and Warehouse Works 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) A week prior to the conference, Khalid showed off to 
PRT and MNF-W staff the new operations center inside his 
Ramadi office.  The center will be open on elections day to 
oversee the movement of ballot boxes and to coordinate any 
emergency response.  It will be manned by the GEO director, a 
judge and liaisons to the Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police and CF's. 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Afterward, PRT and MNF-W staff toured the planned 
holding area for the ballot boxes at the GEO warehouse. 
Boxes are expected to arrive within two weeks of the election 
and will be transported by IHEC officials with an Iraqi Army 
Qand will be transported by IHEC officials with an Iraqi Army 
escort.  Ballots will not return to the warehouse until votes 
have been counted and the results called into the GEO 
operations center.  GEO officials will keep watch inside the 
warehouse.  Iraqi police will secure the area around the 
warehouse but not inside. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9. (U) Three hundred and sixty thousand Anbaris participated 
in the voter registration update, a good proportion of total 
 
BAGHDAD 00003871  002 OF 002 
 
 
eligible voters.  This figure alone is nearly 100 times the 
number of citizens who cast ballots in the boycotted 2005 
national elections.  Fifty-six political entities are 
registered.  These indicators, along with the well-attended 
town-hall meeting, point to a broad public participation. 
One noteworthy fact:  at the town-hall, no attendee raised a 
concern about election-related insurgent violence, which 
quietly underscores the progress made locally on the security 
front. 
 
CROCKER