Iraqi election process moves
ahead By Robert McMahon
NEW
YORK - A few positive signals have emerged concerning
preparations for Iraq's January elections, however
security conditions continue to be the real deciding
factor in whether or not voting will actually take place
as scheduled.
The director of the United
Nation's electoral-assistance division, Carina Perelli,
told reporters that her team is ahead of schedule in
preparing for national, regional, and provincial
elections, which are eight months away.
The
process for choosing Iraq's independent election
commission has begun. A team of international experts
will choose the seven-member commission by the end of
May. The nationwide organization of elections will then
get under way. But Perelli acknowledged enormous
challenges lie ahead. Chief among them, she said, is
providing a secure environment for candidates and
voters.
"Obviously, if the security situation
does not improve, one of the things that is clear is
that the UN will not participate in making those
elections. Neither would we advise any nascent
institution to go into elections that will not really
represent the will of the people," Perelli said.
The US-led military coalition in the country
will remain in charge of security after the July 1
transfer of power to an Iraqi caretaker government. The
coalition has faced a surge in attacks in the past
month, primarily in the Sunni triangle city Fallujah,
and the Shi'ite city of Najaf. The most recent clashes
took place on Wednesday morning, when US-led forces
battled Shi'ite militiamen loyal to rebel cleric Muqtada
al-Sadr in the holy city of Kerbala, killing three
fighters. The fighting came hours after Shi'ite
political leaders called on Muqtada to disarm and vowed
to forge a domestic solution to the brewing crisis
between the cleric and US-led forces.
The impact
of security problems on transitional elections can also
be seen in Afghanistan, where officials recently
postponed nationwide polls from June to September. And
like Afghans, Iraqis are emerging from war and
dictatorship, trying to implement the institutions of
democracy in a short timeframe.
During her
team's recent three-week visit to Iraq, Perelli said
there was a sense of "now or never" among some groups
struggling for control ahead of elections. A number of
Iraqi groups, she said, tended to wrongly assume that
the size of an ethnic or religious population would
translate directly into proportional legislative
representation. She said many Iraqis involved in the
election process "believe that, basically, people only
vote based on identity politics, which is a proven
mistake in all the transition elections I have
participated in".
In selecting the election
commission, the UN has instructed that candidates should
be nonpartisan and sign a statement that they will not
be politically active or join a political party while
they serve as commissioners.
The election
commission, joined by a nonvoting international expert,
will be an oversight and policy-making body with the
power to adjudicate disputes. Once it is formed, the
commission is to set up offices in all 18 provinces and
make sure they are served by professional staff.
Perelli said Iraqis have so far shown little
support for the concept of political parties, after
being traumatized by decades of Ba'ath Party rule. But
she said it is crucial that citizens learn the value of
representative politics through the exercise of
multiparty elections.
"Let's not expect to have
instant political parties, fantastic democratic leaders,
and a firm belief in the power of liberal representation
[during] a transition. Those are part of the things you
build up block by block as you go along in the process,"
Perelli said.
In her consultations so far,
Perelli said she has been struck by the eagerness of
Iraqis to engage in the electoral process. In the end,
she said, it is their political will that will determine
the success of elections.
"Basically, what I
have seen is a very strong desire and commitment to have
their voices heard for the first time and to have them
heard very loudly," Perelli said.
Iraq's
transitional administrative law calls for simultaneous
elections on January 31, 2005 for a 275-seat National
Assembly, Kurdistan regional elections and provincial
elections.
Still to be decided, Perelli said, is
the plan for choosing the head of the executive branch
of government.
Iraqis can submit nominations to
the election commission through May 15 at the 13
Coalition Provisional Authority governing sites: Arbil,
Hilla, Baghdad, al-Basrah, Dahuk, Baqubah, al-Aamarah,
Samawah, Mosul, Tikrit, Sulaymaniyah, Kirkuk and
al-Nasariya.
Copyright (c) 2004, RFE/RL Inc.
Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave
NW, Washington DC 20036
