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Millions
Of Iraqis Vote In First Free Election |
Posted:
01.31.05
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After months of preparations and the deployment of thousands
of troops to try and bolster security, millions of Iraqis went
to the polls Sunday to cast ballots in the nation's first major
free election in more than 50 years.
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One day after the election,
in which insurgents killed at least 45 in attacks throughout the
country, interim Prime Minister Iyad  Allawi
called on all Iraqis to unite to build a strong democratic Iraq.
"We are entering a new era of our history and all Iraqis
- whether they turned out or not - should stand side by side to
build their future," Allawi said. "Now is a suitable
time for us to work together so that the whole world can watch
the capabilities of this great country."
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Who voted? |
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Despite the threat of violence, election officials estimated
at least 8 million Iraqis, or roughly 60 percent of the electorate,
turned out Sunday to cast their vote. Election observers, who
noted sporadic turnout in Sunni Muslim parts of the country, said
low voter participation by the Sunnis could undercut the legitimacy
of the national assembly.
While the central part of the country reported light voter participation,
in the southern Shiite city of Basra, British Independent Television
News reported voter turnout as high as 90 percent.
In the United States, President Bush, while warning that more
violence was to come, declared the Iraqi election a successful
first step in bringing democracy to the Middle East.
 "The
people of Iraq have spoken to the world, and the world is hearing
the voice of freedom from the center of the Middle East,"
the president said in a televised statement from the White House
after the Iraqi polls closed.
Reports from ballot locations portrayed a largely peaceful and
often celebratory mood at polling stations.
"Am I scared? Of course I'm not scared. This is my country,"
the Associated Press reported 50-year-old Fathiya Mohammed as
saying at one polling location in Baghdad.
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Limited violence |
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Although violence was not as widespread as feared, attacks did
take their toll.
 In
one of the deadliest incidents, a bomber was able to board a bus
carrying voters to polling stations in the town of Hilla south
of Baghdad. A Polish military spokesman said the attacker then
detonated his explosives, killing himself and at least four others.
Also, insurgent efforts to intimidate polling workers appeared
to work in some parts. CNN reporter Jane Arraf reported in the
war-torn northern city of Baquba that as many as one-third of
polling locations were not able to operate Sunday because workers
did not show up.
A Web site statement purportedly from Jordanian militant and
al-Qaida ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for
election-day attacks, although the claim could not be verified.
"Lions from the martyrs' brigade of the Al Qaeda Organisation
for Holy War in Iraq ... killed policemen, National Guard, Americans
and inflicted wounds on the enemy," the statement read.
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A successful
vote |
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But despite the problems, international and Iraqi leaders hailed
the vote as a success.
 "This
is a historic moment for Iraq, a day when Iraqis can hold their
heads high because they are challenging the terrorists and starting
to write their future with their own hands," Allawi told
reporters.
In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, whose chief envoy
to the troubled nation helped organize Sunday's ballot, praised
Iraqi voters as "courageous."
"They know they are voting for the future of their country,
they are voting for the day when they will have their destiny
in their own hands, so we must encourage them and support them,"
Annan said in a statement.
 The
votes the Iraqis cast on Sunday were to elect 275 members of a
national assembly. The assembly, which will replace the interim
Iraqi government headed by Allawi, will select the country's next
president and will debate a new national constitution.
Also at stake in Sunday's vote were 18 provincial assemblies
and the autonomous Kurdish parliament in the north.
--
Compiled from wire reports and other media sources
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