Iraqi Popular Committee for Preparing اللجنة الشعبية العراقية للتحضير للانتخابات في الخارج

The Iraqi Elections Abroad/Canada كنـــــــدا

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Ref. 141

Montreal

2 Jan., 2004

Blocking more than 10,000 Iraqis from Voting

The Iraqi Popular Committee for Preparing the Iraqi Election Broad would like to appreciate having the meeting with Mrs. Claire Trevena on 30 December 2004. In which she held individual and extended meeting with each of the Committee members to discuss the requirements of the coming Iraqi elections.

In the aftermath of that meeting, we understood that there are six polling centers in Canada; five centers in Ontario Province, among which is Ottawa center, and the fifth one would more likely to be opened in London Ontario. Calgary center was chosen to cover western Canada, while Quebec and Eastern Canada were totally deprived from opening any polling centers!

The discussion mainly covered, among other issues, the wrong decision of blocking Quebec and Eastern Canada from any polling center, which outraged the whole Iraqi Community.

It also came to our attention, through the discussion with Mrs. Trevena, that your decision was mainly based on inaccurate data obtained from certain Canadian resources, which assert that the number of Iraqi Community in Montreal is fewer than or nearly the same number in Ottawa. We, accordingly, regard your decision concerning the failure of devoting polling centers for Quebec and Eastern region (Halifax), wrong and unfair due to the reasons summed up as follows:

1 - The Iraqi Popular Committee for Preparing the Iraqi Elections Abroad was the pioneer in its cross-Canada campaign to educating and preparing Iraqis for the coming elections when it held it first session on 3 December 2004 with Mr. Farid Ayar, the spokesman of the I.E.C.I.
A second session was held on 11 December 2004 with Dr. Mohammed Bahr al ulom, the former member of Iraqi Governing Council, and Dr. Ibrahim Bahr al ulom, the former minister of oil. It was supposed to hold another session with Mrs. Claire Trevena on 17 December 2004, but upon her request it was repeatedly postponed due to failing to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Canadian government. On our part, we carried on holding several sessions with our communities across Canada and throughout the world via the (Pal talk).
2 - The efforts exerted by the Iraqi Community in Montreal and specifically the Iraqi Popular Committee have successfully paid off in the agreement of the Canadian government to hold foreign elections on its national soil.
3 - In early December 2004, Mr. Saad Sharba, member of the Popular Committee, phoned Mrs. Claire Trevena, clarifying, upon her queries, that the number of Iraqi Community in Montreal exceeds 7 thousand and such data was officially documented by the Montreal Gazette.
4 – Out of our own resources, we have been informed that the Iraqi OCV had already acknowledge their wrong decision of not devoting a polling center in Montreal, a decision was unfortunately based on inaccurate data, however, they kept on abiding by such wrong decision.
5 – We have also been informed that the people of Ottawa who Mrs. Trevena met were exited and amazed to the information that the Iraqis in Montreal were fewer than those on Ottawa.
6 – All those met by Mrs. Trevena were consistently outraged against the unfairness and injustice exercised on the Iraqi Community in Quebec and Eastern Canada.
7 – Mrs. Trevena was amazed when she saw the big file containing personal information of Iraqi families living in Montreal though such file reveals only a portion of the Community in Montreal only, which was collected within one month only, and nearby cities in Quebec ware not included.
8 - A simply clarifying analysis will show that a trip from Montreal to Ottawa for three consecutive days by a family of five members:

$ 75 Returned Bus Ticket Montreal/Ottawa,

$370 Trip for family of 5 member per day

$50 Transportation inside Ottawa

$420 Total cost of a family of 5 members per day.

$1275 Trip cost of one family for three consecutive days,

$1275 Trip cost of one family for three consecutive days,

Loss of three working days for each worker, will cost $100 to $400

Loss of school days for students, primary school to university students

Risks of driving in such cold weather as temperature might reach –40 these days.

Widely Overwhelming frustration against the injustice and unfairness the Community would inevitably feel upon your wrong decision. Thus, our prediction would be far low participation in the elections.

9 - Base on the worldly good reputation enjoyed by your Organization along with
experience in holding elections in many countries, its decisions should have
been extremely accurate and precise and would have been better off avoiding
such mistakes. Thus, no one will be convinced of hearing your “short of time”
while you still have an available polling center to be assigned somewhere.
Additionally, we were the pioneers of reminding you through our letters of
taking the necessary measures and assigning the relevant people and places
prior to the elections to save more time.
10- The Iraqi Community is fully ready to provide with any logistic services to facilitate assigning one or two polling centers in Quebec and Eastern Canada.
11 - We have sent you and yet to receive any response. Thus, we are ready to keep on pursuing the case with similar organizations, which would definitely credit you with more credibility and transparency.
12 - We strongly look forward to hearing promptly positive response from you for the sake of democracy we all strive to achieve out of transparency rather than the detriment of other people’s rights.

Copy to:

Mr. Jean-Pierre Kingsly

Chief Electoral Officer of Canada

Iraq OCV / Amman

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Tel: (514)483 – 0004 Fax: (514) 940 – 2231 Email: iraqfirstelection@yahoo.ca

Web – site: iraqelection.8k.com