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Iraqi expatriates began
casting their ballots in Nashville on Tuesday,
leaving with ink-stained fingers as a sign of their
participation in the elections.
Mohammed Ibrahim, a Nashville Kurd who is working at
the election, related the story of a man who asked
for proof to show his friends that he voted.
“He asked me for a paper saying he voted to show his
friends,” Ibrahim said. “I said, ‘Show them your
finger, then they will know you voted.’”
The elections will determine the leaders of the
Iraqi government for the next four years. Nashville
is one of seven U.S. cities where Iraqis can vote in
the elections. Polling places are also in Detroit,
Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and
Washington, D.C. Nashville is home to 8,000 Kurds,
the largest population in the United States.
“As a Kurd, this is the best day for us,” said Woody
Shwani, who has lived in Nashville for 11 years.
“Today … we vote for our future, Iraq’s future and
our children’s future.”
The Nashville polling site, a warehouse owned by the
Metro Police Department, is at 418 Harding
Industrial Drive, near the airport. Voting in
Nashville began at 9 a.m. Tuesday and will continue
from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Thursday. Main voting
in Iraq will take place on Thursday, with early
voting already underway.
The Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq manages
the out-of-country voting program.
Iraqis must present a photo ID, proof of their date
of birth and their Iraqi citizenship to be able to
vote, said Nabaz Khoshnaw, the coordinator for
Nashville’s polling place.
Iraqis can register and vote at the same time,
making it easier for voters coming from out of town.
“For the others coming from other states, it’s a
very difficult, complicated issue,” Ibrahim said.
The ballot, which is four pages long, lists 228
coalitions, Khoshnaw said. After voting, Iraqis must
fingerprint their ballots, dipping their fingers in
purple ink that stains for a week, which prevents
people from voting twice.
Approximately 4,200 Iraqis voted in the interim
elections in Nashville in January, Khoshnaw said.
Most of the voters in Nashville will probably be
Kurdish, according to Ibrahim.
Shwani hopes that the parliamentary elections will
make it possible for him to return to his homeland
in the future.
“There is no way you can find any freedom like you
find in [the United States],” Shwani said. “We’ve
got a good life here, but everybody wants to go
back.”
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