CPTnet
1 February 2005
IRAQ: Observing the elections in Karbala
by Peggy Gish
Ninety-year-old Keleje smiled widely as she walked out of the voting station
in a school on the edge of Karbala, where she voted for the first time in
her life. Over the doorway of the school a sign in Arabic read, "Today is
the real Iraq wedding."
Ahmed Mohammed Hussein, an elderly man near a polling station in central
Karbala echoed this hopeful spirit as he said, "We voted in a democratic
atmosphere. We are happy and hope this will give us a better life."
Our group of four CPTers had visited three polling centers as unofficial
election observers on 30 January 2005 in Karbala. At two centers, CPTers
were allowed to go into the voting rooms and see the stacks of ballots, the
private voting boxes, instructive posters on the walls, and observe voters
placing their ballots in two large plastic boxes. Election workers would
count the ballots at each center and take them in sealed boxes to the
Independent Election Commission office in Karbala, before sending them to
the national center.
We observed a holiday atmosphere on the streets. Young and old played on the
streets--empty except for police, other official vehicles, bicycles,
motorbikes, and pedestrians. Some people walked up to ten km to their voting
center because of the ban on personal vehicles on election day. Throughout
the day none of the Karbala polling centers reported any violence or
disruption.
But not all the responses CPTers heard regarding the election were positive
and hopeful. Yousef Ahmed was frustrated because he had been out of the
country and had not returned in time to get registered. A man who had been
in prison under Saddam Hussein for fifteen years, told team members he and
others refused to vote, because after being released, he didn't get any
financial help as some others had. "And," he said, "nothing will be changed
by it anyway." Another man said that the rosy picture Bush had painted had
turned bloody. Then he added, "We don't even know the candidates."
The Iraq team appreciated seeing so many people feeling hope and enthusiasm.
CPTers knew, however, that in Baghdad and many other parts of the country
countless Iraqis were afraid to vote. Many question the legitimacy of this
vote or whether it will unify the people of Iraq.
Team members walked back to the hotel that evening, realizing that though
the elections seemed on the surface to go well, that they are not likely to
bring much change in the quality of life for the common people. If their
quality of life does not improve, Iraqis will find their new hope and
excitement crushed once again.
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