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It's 1 of 5 U.S. cities
where expatriates can take part in January election
Nashville is one of five U.S. cities where
expatriate Iraqis will get to vote next month in
their country's election, international organizers
announced yesterday.
The International Organization for Migration said it
will organize registration and election facilities
in Nashville as well as Chicago, Detroit, Los
Angeles and Washington as part of an ambitious,
last-minute effort to let expatriates vote Jan.
28-30 in at least 11 countries, according to a
report in today's editions of the Chicago Tribune.
Election organizers said they focused on the largest
Iraqi population centers abroad by consulting U.S.
Census data and meeting with immigrant leaders.
Nashville is home to the largest community of Kurds
in the United States, with 5,000-8,000 families, and
is referred to by some as ''Little Kurdistan.''
Some of Nashville's Iraqi citizens lauded the
opportunity as an important step in the country's
move toward democracy. But others said they won't
vote because they feel the voice of the Kurdish
minority will still be ignored.
''We are all going to try to work hard here and make
it successful,'' said Ali Mahmoud, former executive
director of the Nashville Iraqi House. ''This will
be a good experience, even though most people really
don't know who the candidates are or who is who.
Even the people in Iraq don't know who they are. But
the procedure is very important.''
Isa Chalky, a member of Nashville's Kurdish
community, which makes up the majority of the local
Iraqi population, said he will not be voting.
''I'm not very excited, personally. I don't see it
as something positive toward the Kurdish cause.''
The larger issue of Kurdish sovereignty is being
ignored, he said.
Both men said they didn't think holding elections in
Nashville would create much of an increased risk of
terrorism here.
''We still need to open our eyes to any strange
things,'' Mahmoud said, noting that community-based
organizations would be able to help supervise the
already tightly knit group.
Chalky said the Kurdish community is not likely to
turn to violence, but would remain vigilant.
''After 9/11, you can't predict anything.''
To participate in the election, which will select
representatives to Iraq's National Assembly,
residents must be at least 18 and be eligible for
Iraqi citizenship. That includes naturalized U.S.
citizens and the U.S.-born children of Iraqi
citizens, said Jeremy Copeland, spokesman for Iraq's
Out-of-Country Voting Program. Copeland estimates
that up to 240,000 U.S. residents might be eligible.
Because no voter lists exist for the Iraq election,
U.S. residents will have to register between Jan. 17
and Jan. 23 at any of the five U.S. voting sites.
Voters then will have the chance to challenge names
on the registration lists if they believe aspiring
voters are not eligible.
Copeland expects each city to have multiple voting
locations, but organizers have not finalized sites
yet. The ballots will be offered in Arabic, Kurdish
and English.
While some Iraqis in the United States had hoped to
vote by mail or the Internet, Copeland said,
organizers did not have enough time to set up a
system that would work.
Eric Bjornlund, a principal with Democracy
International, a Washington-based election
consulting firm, said overseas balloting often is
flawed. But because of the relatively small number
of expatriates, any exclusions should not compromise
the legitimacy of the Iraq election, he said.
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