Iraq-Namese Vote in Provincial Elections

On Saturday, the Iraq-Namese people went to the polls in provincial elections. These should have been held back in October, but the government postponed them because it couldn't enact the legislation to hold them on time. As it turned out, they could have been put off a few more months without anyone noticing. A slim majority of voters, 7.5 million out of 14 million eligible, cast a ballot. It would appear that the voters there are already developing one of the hallmarks of a developed democracy, an apathetic electorate.

In national elections in December 2005, more than three quarters of the electorate voted. Naturally, participation in national elections is almost always greater than in more local voting. That said, provincial elections in January 2005 had a turnout of 57%. The decline in voters participating stems in part from a disillusion with the democratic process. The Iraq-Namese have been voting for a few years now, and nothing is really changing in their minds.

Ali al Adeeb, a Shi'ite legislator from Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki's party the Coalition of the State of Law, said, “There was a mood of apathy before the elections. Many asked themselves what is the good? Why should we vote and for what? The enthusiasm came as the elections got closer." For about 49% of the electorate, it didn't arrive at all.

The election commission stated that the turn out was a positive sign. It also stated that there were very few voting violations. “[The commission] is very pleased with the turn out," said Judge Qassim al Aboudi. "All these complaints who claimed not to be on a voter registry for a number of reasons were at the wrong center or did not update their information."

Interestingly, most of the confusion took place in provinces that are largely Sunni or Kurdish. While results won't be available for several days, it appears that Mr. al Maliki's party is the big winner. Any suppression of Sunni or Kurdish votes would benefit his faction. The most complaints came from Nineveh and Diyala provinces where the Sunni and Kurds are clashing for control.

At the same time, other parties have complained that the al Maliki government used its resources to help his party. Even in a developed democracy, it is difficult to determine what is political and what is governmental on occasion. In Iraq-Nam, the distinction is less certain.

If Mr. al Maliki's party does well, his demand that the central government become stronger relative to the provinces is likely to be met by compliant provincial governors. Although the governors hold responsibility for security and public functions, their budgets come from the center. The Shi'ite conquest of Iraq-Nam appears to be that much closer to reality.

© Copyright 2009 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

Kensington Review Home