A couple of things with this. First, the reporting on this is painful. You have those journalists and MSM groups who did not support the war in Iraq, who are already promoting this election as a bust or not significant. And then you have the other journalists promoting how kick ass this is. What is the real deal you might say? I say use common sense on this, and look at the facts.
As for my thoughts, I am extremely impressed with this election so far, and the voter turn out of 51% now compared to the 2% in 2005 and the involvement of over 4,000 women running for office are very significant events in my opinion. That is awesome news, and that tells me that Iraqis are actually getting involved with the development of their country. Isn’t that what we have been trying to get up and running over there? Isn’t that how you defeat the enemy, with a state that is able to protect and govern itself, and work towards peace, stability, and eventually prosperity? This is progress, yet no one cares. Pffft. Thanks to Arwa Damon for reporting the real story(although it is CNN-lol) and insh-allah. –Matt
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Iraqi women show off their ink-stained fingers after voting Saturday in Baghdad.
Peace, high turnout reported at Iraq polls
02/01/09
* Story Highlights
* 51 percent turnout a sharp contrast to 2005 election, when only 2 percent voted
* Election commission chief: Most important election since Saddam Hussein fell
* The election was seen as a referendum on the popularity of Iraqi PM
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Half of Iraq’s registered voters turned out for peaceful provincial elections this weekend, the election commission said Sunday.
The turnout of 7.5 million voters starkly contrasted with elections in 2005, when the violence and intimidation of al Qaeda in Iraq kept voters away from the polls and only 2 percent of eligible voters participated.
Faraj al-Haidari, the head of the Independent High Electoral Commission, called the turnout this year “very high” for provincial elections in any country. Fifty-one percent of the 14.9 million registered voters cast ballots.
Al-Haidari called the weekend voting the “most important elections in the history of Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein.”
Voting was held in 14 of Iraq’s 18 provinces. The highest turnout — 65 percent — was in the Salaheddin province in northern Iraq, the commission said.
The lowest — 40 percent — was in Anbar, the Sunni heartland west of Baghdad. The sprawling desert area was dominated in 2005 by al Qaeda in Iraq.
Preliminary results from the electoral commission are expected within five days. Final numbers are due at the end of February.
CNN’s Arwa Damon, who toured polling stations with U.N. observers, said she noticed an increased sense of awareness and optimism among voters, who said they felt their participation would have an impact on their lives and country.
Political analysts said this election could correct some of the political imbalances that resulted from the 2005 election. Saturday’s voting also was seen as a referendum on the popularity of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
“We are trying to build a new system of government in the heart of the Islamic Middle East,” Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh told CNN.
“The overwhelming majority of the people of Iraq are having a stake in this process, are buying into this democratic process.”
Those elected will have regional power over the essentials Iraqis have been desperate for — basic services and jobs, Damon reported.
Observers believe the provincial vote will be a gauge of the country’s political direction and an indication of how the parliamentary elections will turn out later this year.
The results should spell out the status of the Sunni Arab “Awakening” movement — which opposes al Qaeda in Iraq — and the popularity of the Shiite factions, such as those backing al-Maliki, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq.
Officials set up tough counter-terror measures for the election, including security rings around polling stations and vigorous searches of voters.
Despite the heightened security, three mortars exploded near a polling station in central Tikrit, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Baghdad, on Saturday morning, an official with the Interior Ministry told CNN. There were no casualties.
In another incident in Tikrit, police detained four people wearing Iraqi police uniforms who they said had thrown stun grenades at voters outside a polling center.
CNN’s Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report.
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4,000 women run for office in Iraq
01/31/2009
* Story Highlights
* Female candidates seek to change women’s status in Iraqi society
* Many will be guaranteed seats under electoral quota system
* Candidate says she’s running to challenge fundamentalist beliefs about women
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Four thousand women are running for office in Iraq’s provincial elections Saturday, and many of them will be guaranteed seats under an electoral quota system.
Regardless of the votes their candidates receive, parties are required to give every third seat to a woman, according to a report this week from the International Crisis Group.
The ultimate share of seats held by women will depend on the distribution of votes among parties, the report said.
Some women candidates say these elections — only the second provincial elections since the fall of Saddam Hussein — are a chance to improve their standing in Iraqi society.
Nibras al-Mamuri is a secular female candidate who argues that fundamentalists have taken over the country. She says it was the 2005 elections that brought them into power and tarnished Islam’s image in Iraq.
Al-Mamuri, who is running for the Baghdad provincial council, says it’s time for a change. VideoWatch how women are trying to bring change to Iraq »
“Although a woman’s role in the Arab world is mainly that of a mother and child bearer,” she said, “I want to prove that women are just as capable as men when it comes to challenging arenas.”
At first, al-Mamuri said, she thought just participating in the elections as a woman was enough. But now, she says she is running to win in order to defy men who believe a woman’s place is in the home.
“I’ve entered a battlefield where women have to prove they are competent,” she said. “I have to forget about fear.”
In recent years, Iraqi women have been targeted by extremists for a variety of reasons — from not covering their hair to entering the political arena.
Under Hussein, Iraq was one of the more secular Arab countries, but the 2003 U.S. invasion unleashed extremist militias. Now, many activists say women have been forced back to the Dark Ages, forced to be submissive, anonymous and fully veiled.
Al-Mamuri said she believes Saturday’s vote can help women improve their position in society.
“An Iraqi woman can be an equal. She can participate in change,” she told CNN.
The image of a woman posing a public and direct challenge to fundamentalists and their beliefs was not seen in the 2005 vote.
“Iraqi women form the core of society,” said Rissala Khalid, another female candidate in Baghdad.
Passing out her campaign card, Khalid told young women that she will fight for their rights, and told young men that she will try to provide jobs for Iraq’s largely unemployed youth.
CNN’s Arwa Damon contributed to this report.
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