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Iraqi parliamentary elections in USA
8.3.2010
By Baqi Barzani, a longtime contributing writer for
ekurd.net |
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March
8, 2010
Today wrapped up the final day of Iraqi
parliamentary election. The voter turnout was more
than anticipated and the ambiance was quite serene.
Except for capital of Iraq where some trifle
violence as a series of explosions was reported, the
election was held successfully else where in the
country and abroad.
In USA, interestingly, a huge diversity was noticed
this time compared to the former elections. Waving
flag, honking cars, Kurdish group dancing; playing
Kurdish voluble revolutionary songs on the streets
in Arlington, Virginia was unprecedented. As always,
the Kurds embraced elections.
Despite sharp incongruity on the merits of
candidates, all Iraqi shared the same common concept
and i.e. “Every single ballot can make a
difference”. Dynamic partaking in election was also
indicative of communal solemnity, enthusiasm and
insight. Iraqi people have come to realization that
they can no longer remain apathetic to the
developments and affairs cropping up in their
country.
Some politicians have already resumed claiming
victory. The US officials are urging the Iraqi
leaders to hold off claiming an outright win until
all the votes have been completely counted and
verified. It has been predicted well ahead of time
that the Kurds are going to secure a very high
number of seats in the parliaments.
In other developments:
Pentagon classified reports: “The role and power of
Iraqi Kurds in Iraqi government should by no means
be weakened since it will drastically derail the US
strategy in Iraq. It is very imperative that the
Kurds secure a high number of seats in the Iraqi
parliament to maintain equilibrium versus Arabs
leverage. The United States should not take the
chance to hinge on the Pro-Iranian Shiite parties or
Sunni Arab groups leaning toward Arab world”.
Aljazeera: In an
interview aired today on Aljazeera, President Jalal
Talabani quoted” A small group like Goran can not
affect the future of Iraq”.
World: The
European Union, France, the UK and the US all
delivered congratulatory words to the people of Iraq
after the vote.
USA: Barack
Obama, the US president, also highly praised voters
and Iraqi security forces for their efforts to play
a part in the election despite the carnage.
NPR: Ayad Allawi,
the former prime minister of Iraq opines in an
interviews” I see that the forthcoming elections are
going to be very important because they will prepare
Iraq for the future, in a sense that either Iraq
will settle down and be a strong, peaceful, united,
singular country, contributing to the stability of
the region, and to the growth of the region or God
forbid the Iraq will continue and slip in to
violence and chaos.
Fraud allegations:
The Iraqi National Alliance warns that it has proof
that some 800,000 false names were added to the
voters’ lists, mostly in Baghdad. The Iraqi National
Movement (Iraqiya) states that fraud was already
committed when candidates were banned under the
guise of de-Baathification. The Iraqi Accord Front (Tawafuq)
has expressed concern that too many polling stations
have been opened abroad, and that this could lead to
fraud.
Al-Maliki accused:
A common feature of the 2010 election campaign was
the practice of distributing gifts to potential
voters in the attempt to secure their vote. Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki has distributed hand guns
inscribed as gifts to tribal leaders. Maliki, has
been accused by other parties of abusing his
position by using state funds to finance his
campaign activities, presumably including vote
buying.
Post-election scenario:
Although, the election was supervised by as many as
120 international monitors, with a number of foreign
embassies providing staff to act as observers, it is
likely for some post-election violence,www.ekurd.netverbal
attacks and fraud allegations to surface. As for the
outcome of elections, it is very definite that the
Kurds will gain a high number of seats in the
parliaments based on the foreign intelligence
reports.
Baqi Barzani is a
Kurdish citizen of Sought Kurdistan [Iraq]. He
advocates the notion of " establishing an
independent Kurdish state". He contributes to
various Kurdish media outlets, especially ekurd.net.
Copyright © 2010 ekurd.net. All rights reserved
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