Election news 1.31.2005
According to Reuters, the current estimates for voter turnout across Iraq stand at around 60% (lowered from the earlier reported 72%), or 8 million of the 13 million registered voters. This was above the expected 50% turnout and - in the big picture - the elections were deemed a success by most accounts. However, the turnout was extremely low across parts of the Sunni Triangle where the 2nd BCT operates (estimated 17,000 ballots cast in the Anbar province out of 250,000 eligible voters). The rest of the articles below discuss the low turnout in those areas:
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Embedded Stars & Stripes reporter Joseph Giordono has an article on the low voter turnout in Ramadi. According to the article, "Security concerns, roadside bombs and a series of brief gunbattles kept most Ramadi citizens from participating in Sunday’s historic Iraqi elections." U.S. and Iraqi officials estimated that around 1,000 people voted at 8 polling stations in the city. The article mentions that female soldiers from the 2nd Forward Support Battalion assisted in performing security checks on female voters. Soldiers from the 1-503rd are quoted.
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The LA Times (reg req'd) has a detailed article exploring the voting patterns in the Anbar province. Key observations:
- Breakdown of the 17,000 votes cast: "1,700 people voted in Ramadi, a city of nearly 400,000 residents; 8,000 in Fallujah, half the size of Ramadi; and about 5,000 in neighboring Nassar Wa Alsalaam, a mostly agricultural community." The remaining votes came from small towns.
- reasons given to the reporter for not voting: safety fears, undesire to support a Shiite majority, belief that voting is against the Koran.
- "Despite the low turnout, U.S. officials declared the election a success.[...] Lt. Col. Randy Newman, commanding officer of the 2nd battalion, 5th regiment, 1st Marine Division, said success should be measured not in the numbers of voters, but by the fact there were no major disruptions by insurgents. Even a poorly attended election is a step toward establishing democracy, Newman said as he toured the rubble-strewn neighborhood surrounding a school that served as polling place No. 1. "This is something that is going to be gained by inches, not yards," Newman said."
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Other mentions of Ramadi or other areas in the Anbar province: The Institute for War and Peace Reporting has an article on the sparse voting in Ramadi. Following an explosion near a US base at 8 a.m., "IWPR reporters spotted only two polling stations that were open." Several gun battles were heard throughout the day. A Washington Post summary (reg req'd) cites residents in Ramadi who indicated "only six people voted at one polling station: the provincial governor, three of his deputies, the representative of the Communist Party and the police chief." A USA Today article reports that "At least five schools used as polling stations were bombed in Ramadi on Sunday. By 10 a.m., no polling stations had opened, said the Iraqi Election Information Network, a group of 10,000 Iraqis monitoring the election. Later, the Iraqi Electoral Commission said some stations had opened on time but did not provide numbers or details." The San Francisco Chronicle mentions voter intimidation: "Reports of voter intimidation were rife. In Ramadi, insurgents distributed leaflets, including one that said: "We will wash the streets of Ramadi with the blood of voters." The Chronicle article also mentions the declared boycott by Sunni scholars: "Both the Iraqi Islamic Party and the Muslim Scholars Association, the two groups that represent pious Sunni Muslims, urged their followers to stay away from the polls. Mehdi Ahmad, a resident of Ramadi, a volatile resistance hotbed, refused to vote. "My choices are between Hakim, an agent of Iran, or Allawi, who is an agent of the occupation," he complained." Gettyimages.com photographer Joe Raedle has new picture up showing citizens voting in Ramadi and election officials tallying votes.
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Other articles from the region:
- Guardian, UK: Mixed message as Sunnis go to polls
- Christian Science Monitor: Iraqis crowd the polls
- Associated Press: News Analysis: It's all up to the Sunnis
- USA Today (via Yahoo News): Next step has entirely new set of challenges
===============
Embedded Stars & Stripes reporter Joseph Giordono has an article on the low voter turnout in Ramadi. According to the article, "Security concerns, roadside bombs and a series of brief gunbattles kept most Ramadi citizens from participating in Sunday’s historic Iraqi elections." U.S. and Iraqi officials estimated that around 1,000 people voted at 8 polling stations in the city. The article mentions that female soldiers from the 2nd Forward Support Battalion assisted in performing security checks on female voters. Soldiers from the 1-503rd are quoted.
===============
The LA Times (reg req'd) has a detailed article exploring the voting patterns in the Anbar province. Key observations:
- Breakdown of the 17,000 votes cast: "1,700 people voted in Ramadi, a city of nearly 400,000 residents; 8,000 in Fallujah, half the size of Ramadi; and about 5,000 in neighboring Nassar Wa Alsalaam, a mostly agricultural community." The remaining votes came from small towns.
- reasons given to the reporter for not voting: safety fears, undesire to support a Shiite majority, belief that voting is against the Koran.
- "Despite the low turnout, U.S. officials declared the election a success.[...] Lt. Col. Randy Newman, commanding officer of the 2nd battalion, 5th regiment, 1st Marine Division, said success should be measured not in the numbers of voters, but by the fact there were no major disruptions by insurgents. Even a poorly attended election is a step toward establishing democracy, Newman said as he toured the rubble-strewn neighborhood surrounding a school that served as polling place No. 1. "This is something that is going to be gained by inches, not yards," Newman said."
===============
Other mentions of Ramadi or other areas in the Anbar province: The Institute for War and Peace Reporting has an article on the sparse voting in Ramadi. Following an explosion near a US base at 8 a.m., "IWPR reporters spotted only two polling stations that were open." Several gun battles were heard throughout the day. A Washington Post summary (reg req'd) cites residents in Ramadi who indicated "only six people voted at one polling station: the provincial governor, three of his deputies, the representative of the Communist Party and the police chief." A USA Today article reports that "At least five schools used as polling stations were bombed in Ramadi on Sunday. By 10 a.m., no polling stations had opened, said the Iraqi Election Information Network, a group of 10,000 Iraqis monitoring the election. Later, the Iraqi Electoral Commission said some stations had opened on time but did not provide numbers or details." The San Francisco Chronicle mentions voter intimidation: "Reports of voter intimidation were rife. In Ramadi, insurgents distributed leaflets, including one that said: "We will wash the streets of Ramadi with the blood of voters." The Chronicle article also mentions the declared boycott by Sunni scholars: "Both the Iraqi Islamic Party and the Muslim Scholars Association, the two groups that represent pious Sunni Muslims, urged their followers to stay away from the polls. Mehdi Ahmad, a resident of Ramadi, a volatile resistance hotbed, refused to vote. "My choices are between Hakim, an agent of Iran, or Allawi, who is an agent of the occupation," he complained." Gettyimages.com photographer Joe Raedle has new picture up showing citizens voting in Ramadi and election officials tallying votes.
==============
Other articles from the region:
- Guardian, UK: Mixed message as Sunnis go to polls
- Christian Science Monitor: Iraqis crowd the polls
- Associated Press: News Analysis: It's all up to the Sunnis
- USA Today (via Yahoo News): Next step has entirely new set of challenges
posted by Ryan Kirk @ 6:15 AM
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