15 December 2005
Iraqi Voters Choose First Permanent Constitutional Government
U.S. Embassy in Baghdad outlines electoral process, preparations
Iraqi voters go to the polls December 15 to choose representatives who will serve for the next four years in Iraq’s new 275-member Council of Representatives. More than 300 political entities and coalitions are vying for seats in Iraq’s 18 provinces. Each province has been allotted a certain number of seats in the legislature based on its population.
For additional information, see Iraq’s Political Process.
Following is a fact sheet prepared by the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad outlining the electoral process and preparations for the elections:
(begin fact sheet)
Embassy of the United States of America
Baghdad, Iraq
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2005
Embassy Spokesman’s Office
Phone: (914) 360-6452
Iraqna: 07901-819-314
Email: BaghdadPressOffice@state.gov
NEWS RELEASE
Iraqi Elections: December 15, 2005
Fact Sheet
BACKGROUND:
On December 15, Iraq will hold its national election. On this day, Iraqis will elect a permanent government that will lead the country for the next four years. The results of the election will determine the composition of the 275-member parliament. Each of Iraq’s 18 provinces will be considered a separate voting district; the number of parliamentary seats allotted to each district is based on the population of the province. The election is an opportunity for all Iraqis to determine who governs them, and how the newly ratified constitution is to be implemented, interpreted and, possibly, amended.
THE COUNCIL OF REPRESENTATIVES
The Council of Representatives is composed of 275 members, whose members shall be elected by a direct secret ballot to a four-year term. In accordance with Article 61(D) of the Transitional Administrative Law, elections for the Council of Representatives shall be held on 15 December 2005.
Of the 275 seats in the Council, 230 are apportioned to the 18 governorates based on the numbers of persons registered to vote on the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) voter registry in each governorate for the 30 January 2005 elections.
The remaining 45 seats are compensatory and national seats. Political entities will win seats in a governorate in proportion to the share of votes they receive in the election in that governorate.
POLITICAL PARTIES
There are 307 political entities registered with the IECI for the upcoming elections. There are 19 coalitions registered with the IECI. Some political entities will participate as part of a coalition in some governorates, and as an individual political entity in other governorates. However, in order to participate in the election in a governorate, a coalition or political entity must have submitted a candidate list to the IECI for that governorate.
MAJOR POLITICAL CONTESTANTS
Iraqi Accordance Front / #618 / Sunni. Led by Adnan al-Dulaymi and Tariq al-Hashimi
Iraqi National List / #731 / Shi’ite & Sunni. Led by Iyad Allawi
United Iraqi Alliance / #555 / Shi’ite. Led by Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim
Kurdistan Coalition List / # 730 / Kurdish. Led by by Mas’ud Barzani
National Congress Coalition / #569 / Shi’ite & Sunni. Led by Ahmad Chalabi
COMBATTING FRAUD
In previous Iraqi elections, several instances of electoral fraud were recorded.
For the upcoming election, IECI states that 15-20 cases of fraud have been formally filed and are now being investigated.
The IECI has requested that all allegations of fraud are forwarded to its complaint unit.
COMPENSATORY SEAT MECHANISM
The Council of Representatives is composed of 275 members, 230 seats shall be distributed to the electoral districts and 45 of them shall be distributed as compensatory seats.
The compensatory seat mechanism is designed to help give a voice to underrepresented parties.
SECURING THE ELECTION
There will be several layers of security in place at the voting centers to ensure the safety of those participating on December 15th.
The IECI and the ISF are coordinating to ensure the Iraqi people will be able to vote in a secure environment.
The Independent Electoral Commission Iraqi (IECI) has begun hiring domestic workers to serve as the election staff. A representative from the IECI explained that the process of hiring local workers will ensure that all people feel part of the election process and that their vote and participation matters.
USAID ELECTION ASSISTANCE
USAID supported elections in Iraq through the provision of technical assistance and commodities to the IECI. The support included extensive voter education and mobilization; training of domestic monitors, political party agent observers, and a network to monitor violence and mitigate conflict related to the elections. USAID’s elections assistance programs are valued at approximately $110 million to support to the five Iraqi elections, including the January 2005 elections, the October 2005 Constitutional Referendum, and the December 2005 elections.
ELECTION SUPPORT ACTIVITIES
-- Helped to prepare a comprehensive plan and cost estimate for voter registration for election events in 2004 and 2005, which the Iraqi government used to establish the election plan.
-- Helped to establish the IECI in time to carry out the January 2005 elections.
-- Embedded 14 technical experts within the IECI who worked in full partnership with the UN.
-- Provided technical expertise, which led to the establishment of the electoral legal framework that defines Iraq’s electoral systems.
-- Collaborated with the Iraqi election commissioners to ensure the delivery of public information and commodities, including voting registration kits, printing and shipment of voter registry, and voter education information.
-- Implemented a comprehensive, countrywide voter education campaign that targeted Sunni Arabs, women and other minorities.
DOMESTIC MONITORING AND VOTER EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
-- Trained 15,000 political party agent observers who were mobilized for the January 2005 Election. USAID also trained and deployed approximately 10,000 accredited domestic monitors throughout Iraq for both the January and October 2005 votes.
-- To educate the populace about the content and significance of the constitution, USAID produced and distributed 1.35 million pamphlets and supplements on the constitution in both Arabic and Kurdish; broadcasted Town Hall meetings with members of the Constitutional drafting committee on television, and produced and distributed constitutional posters.
-- Conducted 5,000 constitutional workshops reaching over 200,000 people throughout Iraq including women and Sunnis. USAID conducted 861 workshops in Sunni Arab areas alone.
-- Women’s rights and minority rights were also supported. USAID provided a $500,000 grant to a coalition of more than 30 women’s organizations to advocate for women’s rights in a constitutional democracy. A USAID $10,000 grant went to a minority rights organization who successfully lobbied for the inclusion of minority rights in the constitution.
-- Established the Iraq without Violence network of NGOs to monitor violence and mitigate conflict related to the elections.
QUOTES
President George W. Bush to the Council on Foreign Relations, Dec 7:
-- “On the political side, we’re helping the Iraqis build inclusive democratic institutions that will protect the interests of all Iraqis. We’re working with the Iraqis to help them engage those who can be persuaded to join the new Iraq, and to marginalize those who never will.”
-- “Iraqis who were disillusioned with their situation are beginning to see a hopeful future for their country. Many who once questioned democracy are coming off the fence; they're choosing the side of freedom. This is quiet, steady progress. It doesn't always make the headlines in the evening news. But it's real, and it's important, and it is unmistakable to those who see it close up.”
Secretary Rice- surprise visit to Iraq: Nov 11, 2005:
-- “Sunni engagement in Iraq's political process is one important sign of the nation's strengthening democracy, which ultimately will spell defeat for violent extremists.”
-- "While we understand Sunni interests, Shia interests, Kurdish interests, other minority interests-- this has to be one Iraq and that's going to require reaching out across sectarian lines"
Ambassador Khalilzad --National Review Online: Nov 8, 2005:
-- “The best outcome would be that moderate cross-sectarian groups, or those groups that are willing to group across sectarian lines and form a representative government working with all communities, can come to power. And a government that gets launched immediately … can deal with the needs of the Iraqi people.”
-- “There can't be the kind of delay there was after the January 30 elections, which squandered much of our momentum: “It took too long to form the government and I think given the situation in Iraq, the needs of the people, they need to encourage them to form a government, an effective government, as quickly as possible after the election.”
-- “I've reached out a lot to the Sunni population in particular, encouraging them to participate in the political process, seeking to convince them that their opposition to the political process and support to the insurgency will work to the disadvantage of the Sunni community — that the rich people will run away and that that's the experience of Afghanistan. That their educated people will run away, reconstruction will not take place in their area, and that as education will suffer, extremism will gain. And that the balance will shift against them and their rivals will gain, and that there is a way to deal with their fears through the political process.”
(end fact sheet)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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