Riverbend: New Year and Elections... (ballots sell for $400 in Iraq)

[Barrett808]

We spent New Year at home (like last year). It was a very small family gathering and E. and I tried to make it as festive as possible, under the circumstances. We agreed, amongst ourselves in the area, to have the generator turned on from 10 pm until 2 am so we could ride out 2004 on a wave of electricity.

...

The elections are set for the 29th. It's an interesting situation. The different sects and factions just can't seem to agree. Sunni Arabs are going to boycott elections. It's not about religion or fatwas or any of that so much as the principle of holding elections while you are under occupation. People don't really sense that this is the first stepping stone to democracy as western media is implying. Many people sense that this is just the final act of a really bad play. It's the tying of the ribbon on the "democracy parcel" we've been handed. It's being stuck with an occupation government that has been labeled 'legitimate' through elections.

We're being bombarded with cute Iraqi commercials of happy Iraqi families preparing to vote. Signs and billboards remind us that the elections are getting closer...

...

There are several problems. The first is the fact that, technically, we don't know the candidates. We know the principal heads of the lists but we don't know who exactly will be running. It really is confusing. They aren't making the lists public because they are afraid the candidates will be assassinated.

Another problem is the selling of ballots. We're getting our ballots through the people who give out the food rations in the varying areas. The whole family is registered with this person(s) and the ages of the varying family members are known. Many, many, many people are not going to vote. Some of those people are selling their voting cards for up to $400. The word on the street is that these ballots are being bought by people coming in from Iran. They will purchase the ballots, make false IDs (which is ridiculously easy these days) and vote for SCIRI or Daawa candidates. Sunnis are receiving their ballots although they don't intend to vote, just so that they won't be sold.

(more)

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/archives/2005_01_01_riverbendblog_archive.html#110466627142368992

[JohnnyRingo]

1. I read that before logging on here....

I had to wonder if the white house is deluded in the belief that the election will be viewed legitimate, or are they counting on a controlled western media to apply liberal coats of lipstick:

<excerpt>
American politicians seem to be very confident that Iraq is going to come out of these elections with a secular government. How is that going to happen when many Shia Iraqis are being driven to vote with various fatwas from Sistani and gang? Sistani and some others of Iranian inclination came out with fatwas claiming that non-voters will burn in the hottest fires of the underworld for an eternity if they don't vote (I'm wondering- was this a fatwa borrowed from right-wing Bushies during the American elections?). So someone fuelled with a scorching fatwa like that one- how will they vote? Secular? Yeah, right.

[velvet]

2. what a fiasco

It will likely be a long time before Iraq has a genuine election.

Riverbend has been a great source of grass-roots information for such a long time, I do admire her clear-eyed view of things. Ever since Salam Pax stopped posting to his blog I have turned to hers for news. I wonder where he is - he was in Australia on a speaking tour at Easter, guest of the Sydney Writers' Festival, I think. I was very sorry I wasn't able to attend one of his talks.

[stellanoir]

3. Would that it were that

wiser heads and hearts, such as Riverbend's, Faiza's (http:// afamilyinBaghdad.blogspot.com ), and Salam Pax's (whatever happened to him?) could prevail. They love their country and have fantastic handles and comprehension of eastern and western cultures. But no, we'll empower the CIA puppets and nothing will change. I'm so upset about all the heinous carnage.

I love riverbend and wish the MSM would pay far more attention to her than Jacko. Oh well. We all know that won't happen.

Let's just all say a prayer for River. I think in the end she will prevail and have greater influence than we can currently imagine..