Half of Iraqi voters turn out for milestone election

[LahoreEstate]

Half of Iraqi voters turn out for milestone election

* 7.5 million of 15 million-strong electorate cast ballots in 14 of 18 provinces

BAGHDAD: Just over half of Iraq’s voters turned out for the country’s provincial elections, officials said on Sunday, after what was being hailed as a milestone for the future of the war-torn nation.

The 51 percent turnout figure was lower than expected, a result likely to disappoint Iraqi and US leaders who saw Saturday’s vote as a key test for a nation trying to secure stability and shore up democracy six years after the US-led invasion. “Turnout reached 51 percent at the national level,” Iraqi election commission chief Faraj al-Haydari told a press briefing, adding that 7.5 million of the 15 million-strong electorate cast ballots in 14 of 18 provinces.

Early, unofficial indicators had suggested a turnout of around 60 percent, with a tight security clampdown in place across the country to guard against militant attacks that may have deterred voters. But the final figure proved lower than the 55.7 percent seen in elections four years ago, the Independent High Electoral Commission said.

However, there was a relatively high turnout among Sunni Arabs, in stark contrast to 2005 when they boycotted the ballot en masse, infuriated by the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein. “We were expecting this turnout, because Iraq is now in a normal situation, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told AFP. But the figure was way below the level of 70-80 percent that Maliki said he was hoping for.

Nevertheless, Shia candidates backed by the prime minister appeared to have posted gains in the poll, which was also being seen as a barometer of his leadership almost three years after he took office. Although Maliki did not stand in the election, he campaigned vigorously for the coalition and a strong showing would be a huge vote of confidence in him and his secular agenda after the years of ethno-religious violence that sent the country to the brink of civil war. Officials said the Maliki vote was strong in the province of Maysan, a former stronghold of Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his Madhi Army militia, where the premier ordered a military sweep against gunmen last year. On Saturday, Sunni provinces turned out to vote in force with Salaheddin, Saddam’s home province, recording the biggest turnout at 65 percent.

Nineveh, the country’s second largest province, saw 60 percent turnout while the figure fell to 40 percent in the former rebel stronghold of Anbar, according to the commission’s data. The biggest turnout in a Shia province was Muthanna with 61 percent, but in oil-rich Basra just 48 percent took part.

About 40 percent of voters cast their ballot in Baghdad, although the official said the tally was not final. The election witnessed minor organisational and logistical problems but overall “everything went smoothly, without security problems, and effectively”, the UN special envoy to Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, said on Saturday. More than 14,400 candidates stood for 440 seats in 14 of Iraq’s 18 provincial councils, which each appoint a governor and oversee finance and reconstruction, with a combined budget of $2.4 billion. Voting in the three autonomous Kurdish provinces and oil-rich Kirkuk is expected later this year. afp

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...2009_pg4_5