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IRAQIS ARE VOTING today in the country’s first polls since US troops departed, a key test of its stability in the face of a spike in attacks that has claimed more than 100 lives.
But the credibility of the provincial elections has come into question, with attacks on candidates leaving 14 dead and a third of Iraq’s provinces – all of them mainly Sunni Arab or Kurdish – not even voting due to security concerns and political disputes.
The elections for provincial councils, responsible for naming governors who lead local reconstruction, administration and finances, are seen as a key gauge of parties’ popularity ahead of general elections next year.
“Today is a day of change,” Salah Hussein, a 45-year-old government employee said after voting, expressing hope that Iraq’s severely lacking basic services would be addressed.
“Security is the most important problem that all of them should be working for — without this, life would be so difficult,” university student Abdulsahib Ali Abdulsahib, 22, said after he cast his ballot.
Voters were searched before being allowed to enter polling stations, and soldiers and police set up numerous new checkpoints in Baghdad.
Only pre-approved vehicles were allowed on the streets, which were largely deserted except for security forces, and groups of children who took the opportunity to play football.
Attacks
Despite heightened security in Baghdad and elsewhere, militants were still able to carry out attacks, though casualties were limited.
Nine mortar rounds, one roadside bomb and three stun grenades, all outside Baghdad, left a civilian and a policeman wounded, officials said.
Every Iraqi who votes “is saying to the enemies of the political process that we are not going back,” Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on state television after casting his ballot at the Rasheed Hotel in Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone.
‘We will fight by casting ballots’
“I say to all those who are afraid for the future of Iraq and afraid of a return of violence and dictatorship that we will fight by casting ballots,” Maliki said.
The elections, which come a decade after US-led forces ousted now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein, are the first since parliamentary polls in March 2010 and also the first since US troops withdrew in December 2011.
An estimated 13.8 million Iraqis are eligible to vote for more than 8,000 candidates, with 378 seats being contested.
“Elections do not solve every problem in Iraq, but no problem can be solved without elections,” UN special envoy Martin Kobler told reporters after touring a polling station in central Baghdad.
Kobler also appealed for Iraqis to “turn out more than now”, while visiting the converted school where journalists far outnumbered voters.
The polls are seen as a gauge of Maliki’s popularity ahead of a general election next year, but major issues affecting voters such as poor public services and rampant corruption have largely been ignored during the campaign.
14 election candidates killed
The lead-up to the vote was blighted by a rise in violence that left more than 100 people dead in the past week and 14 election candidates killed since campaigning began.
Six of Iraq’s 18 provinces are not participating – two because authorities say security cannot be ensured, and four because of various political disagreements.
Iraqi forces were responsible for security on polling day, the first time they have been in charge without support from American or other international forces during elections since Saddam was toppled.
While violence in Iraq has fallen significantly since the height of its sectarian war, it still faces challenges, mainly from Sunni militants linked to Al-Qaeda who launch attacks in a bid to undermine confidence in the government.
Read: Three children, 24 adults killed in Baghdad café bombing >
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it must be nuts living there! imagine 14 candidates killed over here prior to an election its madness
I wonder if this country hadn’t got oil would America have ever got involved….
Keith, if you don’t like oil don’t use it. Give up using cars, trains, buses, planes, heating your home, heating your water. Feel free to live off the grid and walk everywhere.
Don’t bother going to the shops for food because it was all delivered by trucks which run on oil.
Good luck with your new existence.
Declan I wish you well with your existence too mate. You know oil is a very limited resource? You know it’s running out so there are huge profits being made from it? You know the murders of women and children for it are not for altruistic reasons? Do you really believe that us westerners are better and deserve more luxuries than non-Christians? Except for materialistic gain the world has many other resources such as wind and water power. Both environmentally friendly but the lads in the oil industry would deficit their billions and thus curtail their contributions towards the arms industry, electing politicians etc.
Where does he say he has a problem with oil?
Declan is the journals resident pro-American they can do no wrong in his eyes.
Keith, the use of oil is not limited to the west. Every country in the world is dependent on it in one way or another. Until there comes a time for another option we are not going to stop using it. Without it our economies would grind to a halt. Say goodbye to your jobs and feeding yourself.
Then you will see a lot of suffering, hunger and even death.
Oh Declan your flag waving aside you need to realise that we existed long before oil and we will after it. It is a limited resource and maybe not in our lifetime but it is going. It can’t last forever. Now get out of your gas goosling 4×4 and walk some of that excess off my friend. Walking is great. I love it. It’s assume dude to coin a phrase close to your heart :)
I’m confused now, are you saying that oil was invented by America or what?
Some, your right he didn’t buy the oil argument gets old. Remember there was a attempted terrorist strike on a oil refinery in Saudi Arabia. If it had happened, that refinery would have been shut down for months. It is the largest in the world.
Can you remember when the Saudis shut off the flow of oil back in the early 70′s. the long lines to fill your car up.
They just shut it off and turned it back on.
Now think about a complete shut down of the flow of oil for months or even years on end. Think about it and the impact on everyone’s lives.
Like it or not its essential for our way of life and everyone’s else’s way of life except for small rural communities.
Keith, I drive a Honda! What do you drive? I’ve had mine for 7 years and still have only 50,000 miles on it. That’s half of what a average vehicle puts on in a year. I also just started biking to work.
My energy usage in my home is half of what the average person uses.
Do people in Ireland use oil? What do cars in Ireland run on?
Yes the world lived before oil but that was then, this is now.
As for being the “resident America is great on the journal” that’s bull!
I’m trying to live in the real world.
Some, I never said America invented oil. However the first oil fields to be exploited were in Pennsylvania.
Keith, btw, my flag waving picture was taking on st Patrick’s day when I did a hike up the side of a US mountain.
Do you see any excess on me. You ignorant individual. I’m outdoors a lot. I bike, I hike, I walk, I kayak.
Declan my last reply is floating around somewhere. I’m nursing your trolling ain’t I. I’ve been to America too and enjoyed the place and people. I just like to have a more open worldview on opinions. Apologies if these offend thee your trolling aside :)
Kuwait and U.A.E sell there oil to the west,they people there seem to benefit from it. As for american involvement in foreign afairs did’nt it take the Clinton admin to get all the partys involved in N.Ireland to sit down and sign a peace agreement.
Oh that reminds me of why the first Gulf War occurred Paul. Something to do with Kuwait’s oil resources being attacked. It wasn’t to protect the people. Just like the invasion of many countries can de ignored when it suits the USA ;)
Iraq invaded kuwait,kuwait and the rest of the region wanted the U.S to get involved,which the did and kicked Iraq out. Whats your point dizzy…
My point being Paul that the Americans intervened in that scenario to protected vested interests in oil resources. Look at how the Balkan genocide was allowed to continue. You can Google lots of other examples. Now I know your bark is bigger than your bite so your best to chew on your own bone :)
Most of the oil wells in the middle east are operated by american or canadian oil co.When saddam was fleeing kuwait ,he had his troops blow up their oil wells. I know you want to blame the yankee for all the worlds ills. You should hook with the boston bombers aunt,Id say ye would have alot in common….
Declan, the USA invaded Iraq and the reason given was they were making weapons of mass destruction. That was lies. Another reason was a 911 connection. Also lies. I cannot understand people like you. Someone just raises the fact that Iraq has huge oil reserves and makes a connection between that and the war and you tell them to live off grid! It seems you understand the real reason for the war in Iraq. Rather than telling people to live off grid, how about you man up and join the next resource war for team America. You do that before you tell someone to live without oil just because they haven’t succumbed to cognitive dissonance. What’s good for the goose and all that..
They also went into panama when they thought there access to the canal might be under threat.
Shane, the US went into panama in1989! Panama now has control over the canal! Who uses the Panama Canal? Practically any country in the world that ships goods across the worlds oceans. So the US protected the flow of goods around the world.
Guess who is now the biggest shipper of goods in the world? The Chinese. So do you really think that the US is just protecting its own interests?!
This is not a black and white issue.
John, no that is not what I’m saying. The WMD argument has been beaten to death. I’m well aware of the controversy!
You cannot be critical of the Americans protecting the worlds oil supply which is what they are doing and then turn around and take advantage of oil.
Hence my point of “go live off the grid then”
Btw, have you noticed how much oil china is using now?
Declan, what I am saying is that when you invade a country to secure natural resources, which I think we both agree is the case in Iraq, it’s imperialism pure and simple. The fact is that our entire system is based on cheap oil and that we all live in this system. I disagree that if anyone questions that he is hypocritical. Just the same if you support the idea of securing resources by force from another country then without joining up yourself in the military effort then that is just as hypocritical. Apart from any moral argument, the word now is that USA will be the new Saudi Arabia due to Shale oil by 2020. So now was Iraq worth it? You are correct re China. You know they pay Iran in Gold for oil? Bye bye petro dollar. I love the USA. I feel as many Americans do that their government has led them down a very bad path.
Agree with you John. Sad to see people such as Declan being so naive or just plain ignorant like Paul. I do find it funny when you challenge imperialism you’re then painted as anti-American. I’ve great American friends. I’ve travelled that country and I’ve lived there. Many of them are less naive than identified commentators about the real motivations behind invading this and other countries.
Why don’t yourself and keith go for a pint together!
John, Iraqi oil revenues are now at about $100 million dollars a year, the vast majority of which goes to the Iraqi govt. so how can you say that the US is stealing the oil resources of this country.
Look it up yourself.
Jasus,yourself and Keith should go for a pint together if you want some time alone,the rest of us can give you some privacy!
John, that should be $100 billion.
John, so when you use oil in your car or for whatever your not stealing the resources of the country that produced that oil but when I fill my car up in America I’m stealing that oil?
Is that how you are it?
Again, Europe gets 60% of its oil from the Middle East but the US only gets 16%.
So who’s stealing the natural resources from the Arab world?
Please enlighten me?
Declan, I agree we’re hugely dependant on middle east oil. Our entire way of life lives, wears, travels on and eats oil. My main problem is being told that a war like the Iraq one is for self defence or democracy or some other rubbish rather than the real reason. Your starting argument was that oil is so important that if you disagree with the Iraq war you are a hypocrite unless you live off grid. Now you seem to be saying that Iraq war didnt benefit the US but mainly Europe. If you are correct then why did the US expend so many lives and money on it? I would be very concerned if I was a US citizen.
Of course it was about oil. I’d say they had iraq in sights more then iran because of bush abd their famiky history there.
Side effect im glad saddam is gone he was evil and if he died would be like nk his sons would take over. But if your going to knock over a dictator iraq and iran are worst places to do it. So much ethnic tension. I fully back the afgan war I feel would have been sorted alot faster if they did not take eye off the ball with immoral war in iraq.
If they want to restore faith then knock off kim jong un. Free millions from that prison camp and earn world respect.
Democracy f*uck yeah
“”We come to Iraq with respect for its citizens, for their great civilisation and for the religious faiths they practise.
“We have no ambition in Iraq except to remove a threat and restore control of that country to its own people”
G.W. Bush – 2003
Bang up job so far!
On a side note there are many other resources out there besides oil. Just vested corporate interests prevent them currently. It’s like the pharma companies and the billions they make from tackling illnesses. Obviously it’s not financially equitable to cure them as Joe public will no longer purchase the products! Thus keep consumers tied to oil by preventing or minimising growth in other competition based products such as battery/sun power etc.
Ummm just observation but iran has b y far oceans more oil why not have gone there first?
Iraq in 15 years will be by far a better place.
By the way im still anti iraq war. Oil was a factor I do admit.
Very very much in favour or war in Afghanistan and any future Korean war that would set people free
Hopefully this interesting well thought out article helps find your answers Socrates……
Oh and a Korean War would involve nukes and interventions from the USA, China and Russia. Lets not go there! Millions/perhaps billions will perish. Men, women and children and on a more macro global than local micro scale than you anticipate :(
Thanks Keith interesting reading :)
No Korea does not have the tech to launch nuke and if they did odds atr it would blow up on pad or fall right down.
China would not get involved. The north Koreans have pissed off Chinese they want little to do with them.
Nuclear powers unless they perfect star wars system will not go to war id not count a country as a power till they hwve tech to hit target.
The yanks do have interceptors as it is and still the biggest navy and air force im the world. Funny fact thr navy has more jets then the airforce.
I learned this from a American female air force pilot. This was our pillow talk ;)
Lovely story Socrates. Your namesake has always made interesting reading ;)
Ha as if a meer pilot would be privey to such sensitive information.
She certainly knew what to say to get your jocks off ;)
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