It is important that the January elections go forward, and every terroristic action stresses this importance. That said, ideally the results of the elections would represent the will of the Iraqi people. With the election scheduled for a little over a month away, possibilities are still being considered to counter those working for the Saddamist past or an Islamist alternative future, including this.
Iraq’s electoral commission is considering setting aside seats in the country’s national assembly for Sunni Arab politicians and other groups if their supporters don’t vote in the country’s Jan. 30 elections for fear of attacks by insurgents, a U.S. official said Sunday.
Authorities are looking to counter the effects of threats by insurgents, who have vowed to attack voters and polling stations, said Marine Maj. Jim West, intelligence operations officer for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Fallujah.
The prospect of attacks and intimidation has led some Iraqis, especially in Sunni areas west of Baghdad, to say they’re too afraid to vote. Particularly at issue is the Sunni-dominated Anbar province, where the insurgents are strong.
“They’re trying to find out several different courses of action to ensure that the Sunni population is not disenfranchised from the government,” West said. “That is to ensure that even if the insurgents are able to stop the election process in one area, that these people will still be represented.”
The New York Times first reported the idea in its Sunday editions, citing an anonymous western diplomat who said the option had been presented to an aide to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, an influential Shiite cleric who has urged Shiites to take part in the vote.
Shiites comprise about 60 percent of Iraq’s population, with Kurds and Sunni Arabs making up 20 percent each. Some American and Iraqi leaders fear the legitimacy of the election would be jeopardized if Sunnis don’t vote.
West said the electoral commission was particularly worried about the Anbar province, which includes the restive cities of Ramadi and Fallujah. He stressed that it was up to Iraq’s electoral commission and government to decide how to handle the vote, and the idea was one of many the interim Iraqi government was considering.
Fallujah was emptied before a U.S.-led invasion that began Nov. 8 to root out the insurgents who had overrun the city. The government allowed people to start returning to some neighborhoods in the devastated city days ago as part of their bid to get Fallujah resettled for the vote.
West said Iraqi leaders were still working to ensure that all major population centers take part in the vote. He said American and Iraqi officials had talked about the 1st Marine Expeditionary force helping with security by giving local officials intelligence information, setting up cordons and “outer security,” and providing more training to make sure polling places are safe.
The United States does not want to have a visible presence at polling stations for fear that people would see the vote as an American, not Iraqi, process.
“It’s an Iraqi election and the Iraqis need to conduct this election and want to conduct this election on their own,” West said. “We’re willing to help however they would like our help but we are not trying to get more involved by any means more than what they feel like they need.”
West also said people in Fallujah need not register beforehand. Many Iraqis are on population lists compiled for a rationing system worked out under the U.N. oil-for-food program, and he said people could become eligible to vote by showing up on polling day and validating their name on those lists.
I have little, if any, initial objections to such a move. The vote has to go forward to get the government into Iraqi hands and I’m not afraid of little hurdles that allow this. I’ll mull it over a bit while the situation develops, but the Iraqi people need to get their hands on a say in their government and their country’s direction. That is the best hope for their future.