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March 9, 2010
News
Iraqi parliamentary elections in USA
Kurdishaspect.com - By Baqi Barzani
Today wrapped up the final day of Iraqi parliamentary election. The voter turnout was more than anticipated and the ambiance was quite serene. Except for capital of Iraq where some trifle violence as a series of explosions was reported, the election was held successfully else where in the country and abroad.
In USA, interestingly, a huge diversity was noticed this time compared to the former elections. Waving flag, honking cars, Kurdish group dancing; playing Kurdish voluble revolutionary songs on the streets in Arlington, Virginia was unprecedented. As always, the Kurds embraced elections.
Despite sharp incongruity on the merits of candidates, all Iraqi shared the same common concept and i.e. "Every single ballot can make a difference". Dynamic partaking in election was also indicative of communal solemnity, enthusiasm and insight. Iraqi people have come to realization that they can no longer remain apathetic to the developments and affairs cropping up in their country.
Some politicians have already resumed claiming victory. The US officials are urging the Iraqi leaders to hold off claiming an outright win until all the votes have been completely counted and verified. It has been predicted well ahead of time that the Kurds are going to secure a very high number of seats in the parliaments.
In other developments:
Pentagon classified reports: "The role and power of Iraqi Kurds in Iraqi government should by no means be weakened since it will drastically derail the US strategy in Iraq. It is very imperative that the Kurds secure a high number of seats in the Iraqi parliament to maintain equilibrium versus Arabs leverage. The United States should not take the chance to hinge on the Pro-Iranian Shiite parties or Sunni Arab groups leaning toward Arab world".
Aljazeera: In an interview aired today on Aljazeera, President Jalal Talabani quoted "A small group like Goran can not affect the future of Iraq".
World: The European Union, France, the UK and the US all delivered congratulatory words to the people of Iraq after the vote.
USA: Barack Obama, the US president, also highly praised voters and Iraqi security forces for their efforts to play a part in the election despite the carnage.
NPR: Ayad Allawi, the former prime minister of Iraq opines in an interviews' I see that the forthcoming elections are going to be very important because they will prepare Iraq for the future, in a sense that either Iraq will settle down and be a strong, peaceful, united, singular country, contributing to the stability of the region, and to the growth of the region or God forbid the Iraq will continue and slip in to violence and chaos.
Fraud allegations: The Iraqi National Alliance warns that it has proof that some 800,000 false names were added to the voters' lists, mostly in Baghdad. The Iraqi National Movement (Iraqiya) states that fraud was already committed when candidates were banned under the guise of de-Baathification. The Iraqi Accord Front (Tawafuq) has expressed concern that too many polling stations have been opened abroad, and that this could lead to fraud.
Al-Maliki accused: A common feature of the 2010 election campaign was the practice of distributing gifts to potential voters in the attempt to secure their vote. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has distributed hand guns inscribed as gifts to tribal leaders. Maliki, has been accused by other parties of abusing his position by using state funds to finance his campaign activities, presumably including vote buying.
Post-election scenario: Although, the election was supervised by as many as 120 international monitors, with a number of foreign embassies providing staff to act as observers, it is likely for some post-election violence, verbal attacks and fraud allegations to surface. As for the outcome of elections, it is very definite that the Kurds will gain a high number of seats in the parliaments based on the foreign intelligence reports.
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