Secrecy Surrounds Iraq Vote/Elections

[Tinoire]

Secrecy Surrounds Iraq Vote
Concerned about violence, some political parties won't even reveal candidate lists.

By Dan Murphy
Staff Writer - The Christian Science Monitor 1-14-5

BAGHDAD - Secret ballots are the cornerstone of any democratic process. But little more than two weeks before Iraq's first free elections on Jan. 30, the country is finding that secrecy is being taken to new heights.

The identities of many of the candidates haven't been publicly disclosed and are likely to remain secret until after election day, an illustration of the difficulty in mounting an election amid war.

(snip)

Candidates' identities are not the only remaining secret in the election. To help prevent them from being attacked, the location of polling places will not be released until about a week before the election. Party platforms also seem to be kept secret. Campaigning has also been limited, with almost no mass campaign events or rallies. A recent survey indicates that most Iraqi voters are unaware of the party lists' political platforms.

(snip)

Other matters that are still being worked out are the precise number and location of polling places, security arrangements to protect voters against possible insurgent attacks, and provisions to make it easier for Iraqis to reach the polls in largely Sunni areas of the country, where violence has been highest and voter turnout is expected to be low. Mr. Ayar says there will be between 5,500 and 6,000 polling places across the country, many in schools and government buildings. Polling stations will have an average of five booths. Ayar hopes the locations will be announced to the public around Jan. 22.

On Tuesday, appointed interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi acknowledged that violence in Anbar and elsewhere may make it impossible for some voters to go the polls. "There are some pockets that will not participate in the election, but they're not large," he told reporters. Nevertheless, four out of Iraq's 18 provinces are extremely violent, and these provinces are home to about 45 percent of the population, and most of its Sunnis.

"There may be some various locations where it is difficult for people to vote," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher at a press conference Wednesday.

(snip)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0113/p01s03-woiq.htm
http://www.rense.com/general61/SECREC.HTM

How interesting.

[Nitrogenica]

1. Sounds like the election here.

[Tinoire]

4. Same thought crossed my mind when I first skimmed this

except that we knew the names in advance :shrug:

[Darranar]

2. As long as the US remains in essential control of the country...

there will not be true democracy.

It's impossible to have a truly representative government with a powerful foreign military in the country and corporations from the country controlling the military participating in the "reconstruction" efforts.

This particular development does not surprise me at all. Almost any open move will draw repercussions from someone.

[Tinoire]

5. Totally agree n/t

[Ms. Clio]

3. This is simply mind-boggling--I don't know what you call this farce

But the word "election" as usually defined and understood does not apply to this proposed exercise in "democracy."

Stunning. The mind truly reels at this outrage.

And then any thinking person should be infuriated by the complete contempt in which they hold all of us, American and Iraqi alike.

[pinto]

6. bizarre, no. I understand the security concerns, but to call this a free

election is a stretch...

(aside: people don't seem to know that this exercize is to elect a slate of folks, who's role will be to write a constitution and conduct another election for a government...)

Still think civil war may be a candidate, unfortunately.

[Ms. Clio]

7. I think it's very easy to predict what it will actually be

And that certainly won't be the "truly represenative democracy" that Bush promised last May.

It will be another U.S. puppet government, and Allawi or another U.S. stooge will be chosen by his peers to be its titular head.

From Dahr Jamail:

In other words, even if limited popular elections can proceed in the face of escalating political and security crises, none of Iraq's estimated 12 to 14 million eligible voters will cast a ballot for president in the election scheduled for January 30, 2005. Iraqis do not yet have the right to vote for executive officials.

(snip)

It is the National Assembly -- not the Iraqi people -- that will determine who serves in the executive branch, electing Iraq's
president and two deputies of state. Collectively, these three officials form the state's presidential council, and must unanimously select Iraq's next prime minister, Iyaawi's successor.


further:

Nominees for the next Assembly must be backed with at least 500 signatures and meet several other requirements, some of them vague enough to leave plenty of room for controversial interpretations. Article 31 of the transitional constitution lists eight qualifications ranging from age and education to the expected elimination of certain members of the previous regime to other, less quantifiable conditions.

http://www.dahrjamailiraq.com/hard_news/archives/hard_news/000147.php#more


So how does a nominee get 500 signatures and meet the requirements if nobody even knows his name?