Focus on elections

Sunday, 30 January, 2005, will go down in history as the day many Iraqi voters showed their determination to go to the polls in the face of threats and intimidation from insurgents bent on making the first free election in 50 years fail. An estimated 8 million people turned out across the country amid tight security. Adil Alami, a spokesman for the Independent Election Commission for Iraq (IECI) told journalists on Sunday that this constituted 60 percent of the 14 million registered to vote. The number was higher than expected, although Sunni Muslims stayed at home in large numbers. SHI'ITE VOTERS Many Shi'ite Muslims believed it was their duty to vote for a list of Shi'ite politicians after it was endorsed by Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most prominent religious leader in the country. Shi'ites account for at least 60 percent of Iraq's 25 million people, three times the percentage of the next-largest religious or ethnic group. Just like families all over Iraq, the Shi'ite Muslim Shakurs in the Rusafa neighbourhood of east Baghdad had friendly arguments about who to vote for on election day. Haidar Shakur, 35, announced he would vote for the United Iraqi Alliance, a slate of candidates headed by Ahmed Chalabi, formerly a hot US favourite. "We should support the marjahea [a Shi'ite Muslim religious council] which is led by al-Sistani," Shakur told IRIN, as he stood in line at his polling station in the middle class Shi'ite neighbourhood near Baghdad University. His older brother, Basil, disagreed. Only a tough politician like interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi can deal with the insurgents carrying out daily suicide car bombs, mortars and other attacks, Basil Shakur, told IRIN. "He is strong. We thought he should take care of Iraq and be president," he said. In the end, a compromise was made. The Shakurs' father told his family to follow their religious duty. But in the future, Allawi's name is sure to come up again in politics, Basil's wife Suhad Abdul Hussein, told IRIN. "If there are more choices next time, then we can vote for both of them," Hussein said, diplomatically, looking at her husband. Basil and Haidar's children went to their grandmother's house early on Sunday morning so their parents could walk to the polling station. When the sons and Suhad were finished, they went home, so their sister and parents could vote. Their brother Amer, laughed when asked what he thought about the family's political disagreement. "I always listen to my father," he told IRIN, with a big smile on his face. Other families waiting in line at the polling station were having similar discussions. Many Shi'ite Muslims want to elect candidates who would represent their religious wishes. Others said only Allawi would be able to guide the country. "I'm not afraid to say I'm voting for 169," said Fakria al-Yawi, 80, using the number for the United Iraqi Alliance. Ballots had numbers corresponding to each list or candidate and symbols next to the words to help those who are illiterate. The sound of explosions in the distance didn't concern anyone in line at the school in Rusafa, which has largely escaped the attacks seen in other Baghdad neighbourhoods in recent months. But nearby machine-gun fire startled Suhad, and she pushed herself against a wall in fear of being caught up in fighting. "We hope we are voting for safety and stability," she said. "We hope there is no more violence in the coming months." SUNNI VOTERS For many Sunni Muslims from Fallujah, some 60 km west of Baghdad, and other areas where insurgents have fought with US-led forces, going to vote wasn't worth it, however. Some Iraqi journalists who visited west Baghdad polling stations estimated only about 500 temporary Fallujah residents cast their ballots. They fled there after intense battles between US troops and insurgents last November. "I won't put my life at risk for something without results. It won't change the future of Iraq but it might make it worse," Fatma al-Kubaissy, a mother-of-five from the city, told IRIN. Al-Kubaissy's family is living in a relative's house in Baghdad after theirs was destroyed in fighting. Insurgents told them they were prohibited from voting, she said. The family is also bitter at how it was treated after the fighting. They have not received money promised by US troops to rebuild their house, and they can't receive a monthly government food ration unless they return to the devastated city, she explained. "They want us to vote in Fallujah, but we need at least five hours to get inside the city [because of strict security checkpoints]. They took all of the Sunnis out of power. The control of the country is in the hands of the Americans." One of al-Kubaissy's sons thought the election would be as dangerous as the fighting the family saw in Fallujah. He hid in one corner of the room. There was bloodshed with at least eight suicide bombers or mortar attacks around the country killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 47. Some hospitals were worried that they wouldn't have enough supplies for an emergency. "We need urgent material for our emergency department. Many patients have come in the last three days suffering from injuries due to explosions everywhere in the capital," Haydar Ibraheem, a clinician in the emergency room at Jermuk Hospital, told IRIN. A British military C-130 plane crashed north of Baghdad, killing at least nine more people, although it was unclear if the crash was related to election violence. In Sunni Muslim neighbourhoods like Adamiya in west Baghdad, the streets were empty. Accram Taher Sahad, an elderly man, changed his mind after saying cheerfully on Saturday that he would walk to the polling station and take his wife with him. "No one is moving in the streets, so I cannot go to vote," Sahad told IRIN by phone on Sunday afternoon. It appears that personal threats and flyers saying voters' blood would run in the streets had some impact on voting figures in Baghdad and other cities. But Sahar Muhammad, daughter of Muhammad Aish, was determined to cast her ballot, even though thousands of insurgents live in Garma where she lives. Muhammad's father was the minister of industry in 1979 when Saddam Hussein accused him of conspiring against the Baath Party and killed him. "Today, I gave my vote to Iyad Allawi's party because I saw him doing something for me and my family," Muhammad told IRIN. "This returns the dignity that Saddam had taken from my family." TIGHT SECURITY ON THE DAY Extremely tight security around the capital may have prevented even more attacks. Police and Iraqi troops in armoured vehicles were posted on every street corner. Roads were blocked and private cars were stopped at gunpoint. In general, the election was hailed a success by the US, UK and European countries. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, urged national reconciliation and pledged the world body's help in facilitating the country's ongoing political transition, according to a statement issued on Sunday. Annan lauded the bravery of the large numbers of Iraqis who exercised their right to vote despite significant attempts at violent disruption, as well as those who supported the process, the statement said. Meanwhile, the mood in Shi'ite Muslim areas of Baghdad was festive, with voters showing off purple ink-stained fingers, a sign they had voted. The Sunni Muslim Baqouba, north of Baghdad, saw celebrations and the northern Kurdish city of Mosul, where insurgents have battled US-led forces, reported lines later in the day at polling stations. There was a slow voter uptake in the city of Arbil, though, some international media reports suggest that there was an 85 percent turnout there. In areas with high concentrations of insurgents, such as Latifiyah and Mahmoudyah south of Baghdad, only about 15 percent of voters turned out, Farid Ayar, a spokesman for the IECI, told IRIN. In Fallujah and Ramadi, several polling stations failed to open, Ayar added. In southern Iraq, the Shi'ite stronghold, the turnout was said to be good with a lot of enthusiasm from voters. Ballot counting could take up to 10 days, although an initial report is expected sooner. Iraqis were voting for a 275-member national assembly, with some 18,000 candidates from more than 200 political parties. The assembly will elect a new president and a prime minister, among other officials but its main job is to write a new constitution for Iraq. Voters are expected to approve the constitution this summer and may vote for a new government by the end of the year under a timetable laid out by US advisers.