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Cablegate: Democracy in Action -- Purple Fingers Across Canada

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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 003696

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR JEANNETTE E. DAVIS, DRL/PHD
PASS TO DHS FOR WESLEY WILLIAMS,

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KDEM PREL KPAO CA IZ JO
SUBJECT: DEMOCRACY IN ACTION -- PURPLE FINGERS ACROSS CANADA

1. (U) Summary. In contrast to sealed borders and security
curfews in Iraq to protect Iraqi voters, Iraqis resident in
Canada overcame only bitter temperatures in their efforts to
make their political will known on December 13, 14 and 15.
Approximately 8,700 of the 15,000 to 20,000 eligible voters
headed to voting stations in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and
Montreal. The unofficial estimate of Iraqis living in Canada
is 25,000 to 40,000. While this number represents a slight
decrease from the 10,000 who voted in the January interim
parliamentary elections, it includes at least one busload of
voters from upstate New York. Ahmed Al-Hayderi, Media
Director and Accreditation Officer for the Independent
Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) and a dual Canadian-Iraqi
citizen who has lived in Canada for 25 years, attributes the
decrease to a brief two-week organization period, a media
campaign that began late as well as mid-week, rather than
weekend, voting. He highlighted the presence of new voters,
whose participation was facilitated by the same-day
registration and voting system implemented for this election.
Showing off his inked purple index finger, he called it a
"badge in defiance of terrorism" and stated that "democracy
in Iraq is a process and it is now irreversible." End
summary.

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More Efficient Process is More Inclusive
----------------------------------------

2. (U) In Ottawa, the single polling station in a strip
mall in the southern part of the city attracted a variety of
secular and religiously observant Iraqis -- Sunni, Shia and
Kurd. Poloff, who visited the storefront polling station on
14 December, witnessed democracy in action, as volunteers
eagerly facilitated voters' registration and balloting.
Security was evident but not intrusive; a Royal Mounted
Canadian Police (RCMP) Officer was posted at the external
door. Thomas P. Haney, Program Director of the Police
Leadership Program in charge of site security, said that
cooperation with the RCMP and the Canadian Security
Intelligence Service (CSIS) had resulted in few, if any,
security risks. Voters passed through airport-like security
measures prior to entering what appeared to be a converted
office that housed four registration and balloting stations
manned by male and female volunteers, some wearing kafiyah
turbans, others bare-headed, some in hijab and others bundled
in Western winter clothing. Several official election
observers from the International Mission for Iraqi Elections
monitored the process along with several "agents" from
several of the political parties and movements running in the
election. There were no visible signs of active campaigning
or any posters or information leaflets on the site.

3. (U) According to Al-Hayderi, simultaneous registration
and voting (contrasted with January's two-part process)
brought new voters out for this election, as did the recent
passage of the more inclusive Iraqi Constitution and the
addition from January of a Monreal voting station. He said
that Saddam's trial, while long anticipated and welcomed, was
not a factor in the increased turnout. Polls opened at 9:00
a.m. and remained open until 9:00 p.m. but the heaviest
turnout was in the mid-morning and late afternoon/evening.

4. (U) After presenting photo identification, a voter
registered his/her name and received a four-page printed
Arabic-language ballot with over 300 movements and parties
(and their associated symbols) listed for the 275
Parliamentary seats. The voter took the ballot to a table
and, behind a cardboard screen, marked one box for the
desired party. Once the balloting was completed, the voter
separated the three unmarked sheets and placed them in a
basket, dipped his/her right index finger in special
long-lasting purple ink and deposited the folded page with
his/her choice into a plastic bin secured with special ties.
Ballot boxes were stored in a secure location and official
election observers began counting the ballots on 15 December.
Final results will be transmitted to the IECI as soon as
they are available and the ballot forms will be packaged and
hand-carried to Amman next week.

-------------------------
The View from Mississauga
-------------------------

5. (U) ConGen Toronto reported that the Greater Toronto
Area polling station in a suburban Mississauga office park
was busy with registrants and voters. Manager Anwar Hamasoor
told Toronto poloff that his polling site had accommodated
several families from the Buffalo, NY area who had crossed
the border to cast their ballots. He added that this
election's streamlined one-day registration and voting system
had encouraged participation from the border areas of the
U.S. A woman who supervised the translators assigned to each
of the 15 voting tables said that the Toronto voters included
many ethnic Assyrians, and that many of them had told her
that, while still optimistic about the current election,
their overall enthusiasm was beginning to wane because of the
prolonged strife in Iraq. Five monitors from the
International Mission for Iraqi Elections, under the auspices
of Elections Canada, were well positioned to view
registration and balloting. They reported no incidents or
irregularities as of mid-day December 14.

-----------------------------
The U.S. Must Stay -- For Now
-----------------------------

6. (U) An interview with a thirty-something female voter, a
dual citizen who had lived in Canada for ten years and who
had previously voted in the January election, revealed her
pride in participating in her country's unique democratic
transition. She identified security as the most pressing
issue facing Iraq but, while acknowledging that Iraqis are
better prepared to handle their own security concerns, she
stressed that now was not the time for the Americans to
leave. Al-Hayderi, who had participated in the USG-sponsored
Future of Iraq Working Group on Infrastructure and Economy,
expressed his disappointment that the Department of State's
initiative had lost out to bureaucratic infighting with the
Department of Defense, the result of which was the
side-lining of recommendations that might have created a more
stable environment in post-Saddam Iraq.

--------------------
The Diaspora Engaged
--------------------

7. (U) Both Al-Hayderi and the anonymous voter acknowledged
that many Iraqis currently living in the Diaspora would and
are considering a return to a peaceful and stable Iraq.
While Al-Hayderi admitted to being set in his ways and not
having any plans to return permanently to Iraq, he cited that
a friend who had not lived in Iraq for 15 years had returned
two years ago with his family to open a holding company in
the communications field. Al-Hayderi estimated that he
employs hundreds of people. The anonymous voter said that,
while she values her Canadian citizenship and plans to vote
in the January 2006 Canadian elections, she and her family
(half-Iraqi husband and two young children) would consider
returning permanently to Iraq when the security situation
improves.

8. (U) Comment: While Canada actively recruits immigrants
to fill labor gaps and augment a shrinking and aging
population, it is less successful at utilizing the skills
that many immigrants bring to the country. J.P. Melville,
Director of Cross-Cultural Training and Community Development
at the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization
(OCISO) confirmed that, like many immigrants, those from Iraq
have difficulty getting their professional credentials
recognized and finding suitable professional employment in
Canada. He added that, while many more recent immigrants
talk about returning to their home countries, by and large
they remain in Canada because of the potential for their
children. End Comment.

9. (U) ConGen Toronto contributed to this cable.

Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa

WILKINS

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