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Confusion amid the
chaos
By Dahr Jamail
BAGHDAD - The elections due this
Sunday appear to have brought more chaos and division
among Iraqis than unity and hope. And they have
brought greater security fears.
US-appointed
Prime Minister Iyad Allawi acknowledged
last week that full security would be impossible
- this despite the rather draconian
measures his interim government will have in
place.
The government has announced plans to close borders
from this Saturday until Monday. It will cut mobile
and satellite phone services, ban travel among
Iraq's 18 provinces, lengthen curfew hours and
restrict the use of vehicles.
Security at
polling stations will be heavy. The government
plans to set up three security rings around each
of the 9,000 polling stations.
But the
government is preparing for a bloody election day despite
such measures. The Health Ministry has announced
it will provide more hospital beds, medical
supplies and staff for the day. The US military
will run extra patrols to respond faster to
attacks.
With at least eight candidates
killed, and many others receiving daily death
threats, campaigning has mostly consisted of
parties employing staff to post leaflets and put
up posters. Many of the posters are torn down the
same day, while others are burned.
The
polling process itself is confusing many people.
With 7,785 mostly unnamed candidates on the lists
of 83 coalitions of political parties, voters have
little idea whom they will be voting for. Each list
contains between 83 and 275 candidates, running on
platforms championing all sorts of causes.
The candidates' lists have names such as
the Security and Stability List, the Security and
Justice List and the Iraq List. Many include fancy
graphics, but few carry candidate photographs.
Allawi is a member of a list running under
the slogan "for a strong, secure, prosperous,
democratic and unified Iraq". Most candidate lists
do not mention the occupation of Iraq.
One
election poster reads, "Let the polls be our
answer to the car bombings and insecurity."
Another has a smiling face of a man with the
promise that this list will focus on restoring
electricity.
The lists are mostly
sectarian. Kurdish lists are focused on winning
Kirkuk for Kurds, and obtaining a top government
post. Shi'ites have their own lists, some seeking
federalism, others an Iranian-style regime.
The Association of Muslim Scholars, a
Sunni group, has called for a boycott in protest
against the destruction of Fallujah by the US
military. Local people estimate that 90% of Sunnis
will not vote. Members representing Sunni Muslims
would in that event have to be appointed.
Most
voters are expected to be Shi'ite Muslims. Their
revered Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has issued a
fatwa
instructing his followers to
vote.
"I will vote because Sistani has
told us this will help the country," said Abdel
Hassan, a shoemaker in the predominantly Shi'ite
district Karrada in Baghdad. "And I am ready to do
anything to help my country."
Other Iraqis
appear to be firmly against the elections. "How
can we vote when we don't know any of the
candidates?" said a Shi'ite man who gave his name
as Ghassan. "And how can any of them help a
country that is occupied by invaders?"
Just the fear of violence is certain to
keep many voters at home. "We don't know when the
next bullet will come, so we are staying in our
homes most of the time," said Abdulla Hamid, a
35-year-old father of five who sells vegetables in
Baghdad. "I would vote if there was security, but
this election is confusing to me and seems to be
causing so many problems already."
Some
believe voting will help security. "I will be
voting for Allawi because I think he can help
Iraq," said Suthir Hamiz, whose husband works in
the supply department at a US military camp. "I
think he can bring security."
Hamoudi Aziz, who drives his car as a taxi while
looking for a better job, says the elections
themselves have brought a worsening of the
security situation. "I'm not even safe in my own home
under this martial law," he said when asked whether he will
vote. "So how am I expected to vote for this crazy
parliament?"
(Inter Press
Service) |
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