Iraqis Repose Faith in Ballot

A massive turnout in Iraqi polls on Saturday reflected the fact that the country has come out of carnage and chaos, and is embracing complete sovereignty as the role of the United States diminishes.

The elections are also seen as a test of Iraq’s stability and a new chapter in parliamentary democracy as more than 14,000 candidates contested for 440 seats to lead councils in 14 of the country’s 18 provinces.

The vote has come at a decisive moment. With Iraqi troops providing the bulk of security and the coalition forces taking a backseat, the elections offer a glimpse of the nation’s resolve and ability to manage its own affairs. Saturday’s vote is the first on a nationwide scale since the US invasion in 2003, and also the first in which the nation’s Sunni minority and Shia majority went to poll without much disagreement.

Another promising aspect is that the polls did not marginalise the Sunni population, which was dubbed as Al Qaeda sympathisers for boycotting the 2005 elections. It vigorously campaigned on issues of development and socio-economic lifelines.

However, the US policy of ‘surge’ has acted as a catalyst in realising the unison of thought in the Iraqi society — that addressed to a great extent fears among the minority community by making them a stakeholder in the nation-building process.

A day of peaceful polling, which saw 14 million eligible voters rubbing shoulders, will always be remembered as a milestone in the country’s history. It is not only a great achievement for an infant democracy at work in Iraq, but also a point of delight for the Americans as they scramble to pull out of the war-weary country.

Iraq’s repeated experiences with the ballot in the post-Saddam Hussein era, howsoever turbulent and distasteful they may be, only confirms the nation’s faith in democracy that has had a long journey from dictatorship to foreign occupation and now a representative dispensation.

Keeping in view Iraq’s rich history and culture, and the nation’s fondness for egalitarianism, it is good to see that in the recent polls a large number of people were seen campaigning candidates with secular and nationalistic credentials – in a sharp departure from the previous trend of voting purely on sectarian and ethnic lines. This has, indeed, allayed fears being cast over Iraq’s geographical integrity.

Though results are not expected for several days, and the nation’s verdict will be awaited, what is decisive is the new face of Iraq: a country with a representative government, and one which sooner than later will be free from foreign occupation. One hopes to see a stable and secure nation emerging from the rubbles of a great Mesopotamian civilisation.