Election passion building in Iraq

By: Ismail Zabeeh

KAZEMIYAH, Iraq: Election fever is building in Iraq for a vote set for January 30 as Iraqi President Ghazi Al-Yawar voiced his support for holding the elections as scheduled while Premier Iyad Allawi met King Abdullah II and Iraqi exiles in Jordan to rally support for the polls.

“This election, for me, will be the happiest moment in my life, because it means we will end the occupation,” said Ahmad Al-Asadi, who sells mobile phones from a little store alongside the holy shrine of Al-Imam Mousa Al-Kazem (p) and Al-Imam Muhammad At-Taqi Al-Jawwad (p) in Kazemiyah.

Around the gold-domed shrine fresh white banners exhorting Iraqis to vote flutter in the winter sunshine alongside posters of Ayaat.

“Your ballot is better than a bullet in a battle,” declares one banner. “A vote is more valuable than gold,” says another, alongside a third that proclaims: “Not voting rewards terrorism.”

In the Hayat Hotel, which caters to pilgrims coming to worship at the nearby shrine, Amir Mohammed Ahmad recently received a stack of posters to hang in each of his hotel's 17 rooms. They feature a picture of Ayatullah As-Sistani under the slogan “Voting in the Election is a Patriotic Duty,” along with a brief explanation of the rules.

“Sistani has asked us to participate in the elections. That now is like an obligation for us,” Ahmad explained. “It doesn't mean he's telling us whom to vote for. He's advising us for our own benefit.”

To register voters, Iraq's Independent Electoral Commission is using the Saddam Hussein-era food-rationing system, which reaches almost every household in the country and lists about 13.9 million Iraqis older than 18.

People collecting their rations this month also receive a form listing the names of eligible voters in their family. If names are missing or wrong, they are to correct the form and return it next month, eliminating the need for anyone to publicly declare their interest in voting by showing up at a voter-registration center.

The head of the electoral commission Abdul Hussein Hindawi said that even if voters do not receive their forms, as long as their names appear on the food ration list they will be able to vote. Just in case, the commission is working on plans to allow voters to register on Election Day, he said.

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