VZCZCXRO6329
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #2000 2061023
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251023Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4069
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 002000 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: IZ PGOV KDEM
SUBJECT: SITREP: U.S. MONITORS REPORT QUIET AND ORDERLY 
START TO THE KRG ELECTIONS 
 
REF: BAGHDAD 1998 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Today, July 25, voters in Iraq's autonomous 
Kurdistan Region head to the polls to vote for a new regional 
parliament and to participate in the first popular election 
of a Kurdistan president.  This election is the first Iraqi 
Kurdistan Parliament election since January 30, 2005.  In 
that race, the coalition of the Kurdistan Democratic Party 
(KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) won 104 of 
the IKP's 111 seats.  While today's election may slightly 
shift the political balance of the IKP, the KDP-PUK coalition 
is expected to retain its majority.  Political analysts 
predict that newly formed Change List party, headed by former 
PUK Deputy Secretary General Nawshirwan Mustafa, could win 15 
seats.  The Service and Reformation coalition, composed of 
four opposition parties, also may win nine or more seats. 
Under the amended Kurdistan Electoral Law, minority parties 
have been allocated eleven seats by quota -- five to 
Christians, five to Turcomen and one to Armenians.  Kurdistan 
President Masoud Barzani is expected to win the vote for the 
presidency without much contest. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  In support of Iraq's electoral process, the U.S. 
Mission has fielded eight election monitor teams today:  two 
teams in Erbil, two teams in Dohuk, three teams in 
Sulaimaniyah and one team in Baghdad.  The United Nations 
Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has also sent out six 
observer teams.  We understand that international diplomatic 
missions based in Iraq will also field election observer 
teams today, including:  the Arab League, Australia, the 
European Union, Denmark, France, Japan, Korea, Poland, 
Russia, Sweden, Turkey and the UK.  The Embassy is working in 
close coordination with these teams, and anticipates selected 
readout and reports from these teams in the coming days. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  As of 12:00 p.m. today, the U.S. election monitor 
teams report a quiet morning at the polling stations visited. 
 One elections official estimated that turnout was at roughly 
30%.  During the morning, there was virtually no traffic on 
the streets as Peshmerga forces strictly enforced a one-day 
vehicle ban across Kurdistan.  U.S. monitors reported seeing 
families walking to polling centers on foot.  Soon after 
polls opened at 8:00 a.m., monitors noted that there were no 
lines of people, and that voters were able to cast their 
ballots immediately.  Party agents were present in all of the 
polling sites visited by the U.S. teams, and both the 
Kurdistani List and the Change List appear to be well 
represented.  U.S. monitors also report seeing many domestic 
observers from non-governmental organizations. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  In Erbil, RRToffs monitored a special temporary 
polling site that was assembled for President Barzani at the 
Sheraton Hotel.  They report heavy media coverage as Barzani 
voted and proudly displayed his finger, which was dipped in a 
special purple ink issued by the Independent High Electoral 
Commission (IHEC).  Elsewhere, U.S. monitors noted that the 
KDP-PUK coalition has organized a children's campaign; kids 
with banners, balloons and Kurdistan List t-shirts were seen 
riding bicycles near the polling stations.  All teams have 
reported numerous incidents of voters being turned away from 
polling stations because they could not find their name on 
the voter registry. One woman in Erbil was turned away 
because she was registered under her family name instead of 
her married name, she told Poloff that she planned to file a 
complaint with IHEC.  Embassy Baghdad is tracking this issue 
closely to determine the magnitude of the reported problems; 
U.S. election monitors are telling people with electoral 
QU.S. election monitors are telling people with electoral 
complaints to report their problems to IHEC. 
FORD