Who were the choices in the Iraq election?

[New Earth]

I guess I haven't been paying enough attention because I have no idea who the choices were or whatever party it is they represent....does anyone know?

[Vincardog]

1. Vote for a CIA pawn or don't vote let your county's future be decided by

sold out to BFEE either way.

[New Earth]

2. huh?

i'm confused. who were the choices? (well, the supposed choices, i'm sure it was rigged to have whoever Bush admin wants to have win)

[ashmanonar]

3. a list with all the choices

would take up the entire thread...there were a hundred something separate parties running, each with a few hundred people for the group that would pick the pm...

it was too many.

[Djinn]

6. not an election for leaders

this "election" in which large percentages of the population can't vote because of security concerns, entire areas were simply cut out of the process in a display of democracy at work.

the elction will choose a temp group who will choose PM, cabinet and write a constitution - the old one wasn't as useful to international corporations who would like all of Iraq's resources for themselves and find state ownership of anything repugnant. If it fails to egt a new constitution ratified by the end of this year it can extend it's own mandate for 6 months before calling another election.

Unfortunately the shots have already been called, Iraq has been bound into contracts that guarantee it's poverty and dependence

On September 19, (2003) Bremer enacted the now infamous Order 39. It announced that 200 Iraqi state companies would be privatised; decreed that foreign firms can retain 100% ownership of Iraqi banks, mines and factories; and allowed these firms to move 100% of their profits out of Iraq. The Economist declared the new rules a "capitalist dream".

About the only thing these "elections" may do is start the feared civil war, giving the US a handy pretense to stay indefinetly.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1079575,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1328888,00.html

http://www.motherjones.com/news/update/2005/01/01_402.html

[havocmom]

4. Something like 6000-7000 names to pick from

to form a congress sort of thingie to appoint a steering group kinda governing body which will choose a leader for Iraq. And the huge list of names was just made public a couple days ago. Candidates were kept secret mainly to protect them from being known by the public. Something about the likelyhood someone would have tried to kill them had their identities been known. Not a really riviting campaign season to follow.

Yeah, democracy... sure, we believe ya George. We brought the Iraqis democracy. :eyes:

[katinmn]

5. Here's a good site that explains a lot

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/khtml/2005/01/19/international/20050119_iraq_ELECTIONS_GRAPHIC2.html','600_475','width=600,height=475,scrollbars=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes

[BurtWorm]

16. That link didn't work for me, but this one might work for others

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/khtml/2005/01/30international/20050130_iraq_ELECTIONS_FEATURE.html

It's an interactive guide to the Iraqi elections from the NY Times. If this doesn't work, go to the nytimes.com and look for the box on the Iraqi election. You may have to register.

[New Earth]

7. thanks for the answers guys

i know a little more than i did.

[OneBlueSky]

8. BushCo, BushCo, and BushCo . . . n/t

.

[Skittles]

9. anonymous "lists of people"

of whome ALAWI is assured to win. Sound like a sham election? YA THINK???

[Tinoire]

10. LOL! Not even the Iraqis knew until they got to the polling places

and then as someone mentioned it was a huge list of names with no indication of what they stood for.

Some election eh? Only Bush & Rove could have designed something of this sort.

[mwwittin]

15. Slight correction

To be fair, the UN/IECI designed the ballot and procedures in consultation with the Iraqi election committee (elected by local governments/elections).

It's a bloody mess, but the US government had little to do with the particulars in this case. In any case, this is not what most Iraqis would have chosen, I'm sure.

[LadyRaivan]

11. Well...

...the rethugs sure are whooping it up. "See how GREAT we are? See what WE did?" Picture after picture of women holding up purple fingers.

When I think of all the lives lost in order to bring us to this joke of an election...my stomach turns.

[Ms. Clio]

12. Vote, or kiss your rations goodbye n/t

[LibertyorDeath]

13. The choices were this Bullet or

that Bomb....

[donheld]

14. Didn't the US more or less

tell them who they had to vote for?