| |
| |
![]() |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
BAGHDAD: Millions of Iraqis vote on Saturday in an election seen as a gauge of how far the war-torn nation has progressed since a US-led invasion ousted Saddam Hussein from power almost six years ago.
Iraq has in the past year seen a stark improvement in its security situation, but tens of thousands of police and soldiers will guard the country's first ballot since 2005, testing their ability to keep the peace.
The stability of Iraq has been at the forefront of new US President Barack Obama's early moves on foreign policy, as he is keen to redeploy American soldiers to Afghanistan which he sees as the front line against Al-Qaeda.
There are fears that violence could mar Saturday's polls which are being held in 14 of the country's 18 provinces, with Iraqi and US military commanders warning of Al-Qaeda attacks.
The vote is expected to see Sunni Arabs turn out in force in a reversal of the January 2005 parliamentary elections and is also being seen as a quasi referendum on the leadership of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
The Shiite Muslim premier has been striding out as an increasingly strong figure on the political stage as he has presented a secular national agenda in response to the sectarianism that has long gripped Iraq.
Last year he won plaudits for taking a tough stance in negotiations over a key security agreement with Washington that will see US troops leave the country by the end of 2011.
His standing began to grow after he ordered Iraqi forces last year to take on Shiite militiamen in hotspots such as Basra, Maysan and Diyala provinces as well as Baghdad's Shiite slum of Sadr City.
The militants were eventually subdued after weeks of fighting that left hundreds dead, drawing criticism from rival political camps that accused Maliki of increasingly overstepping his authority.
This followed the success of the American military's 2007 "surge", which saw a large increase in US troop numbers begin to neutralise fierce Sunni and Shiite sectarianism that had threatened to spiral into all-out civil war.
"Maliki's greatest triumph is that he managed to turn 'the surge' to his own personal advantage from 2007 onwards," Reidar Visser, editor of the Iraq-focused website www.historiae.org, told AFP.
"He was unknown but the surge has made him into something of a strongman."
Four years ago Iraq's Sunni Arabs boycotted the legislative election, allowing Shiite and Kurdish parties to take control of parliament, but Sunnis are expected to take part on Saturday in large numbers.
Although Maliki is not standing, he has thrown his support behind a list of candidates that make up the State of Law Coalition.
Maliki has also used his newfound power to place loyalists at the head of governing institutions, said Joost Hiltermann, a Middle East analyst with the International Crisis Group think tank.
"This could provide him with a significant boost in the elections," he said.
Some 15 million citizens are being called to the polls to elect among more than 14,000 officials for 440 seats.
On the eve of the vote, Iraq's borders will be closed while transport bans and night-time curfews will also be put in place as part of stepped up security measures.
The run-up to the elections has been relatively free of unrest, a sharp contrast to the election in 2005 when 60 Iraqis were dying a day. Last month the average was 10.
A report by the ICG, which studies conflict-torn nations around the world, emphasised the importance of the election.
"Whereas the January 2005 elections helped put Iraq on the path to all-out civil war, these polls could represent another, far more peaceful turning point," it said.
Provincial councils are responsible for nominating governors who lead the administration, finance and reconstruction projects in their areas, controlling a combined budget of US$2.4 billion. Security forces remain under federal government control.
The United Nations and Iraq's Independent High Election Commission is organising the elections, with 800 international observers expected to oversee the balloting.
The vote will not include the three autonomous Kurdish provinces - Arbil, Dohuk and Sulaimaniyah, all in the north.
Elections have been postponed in the oil-rich Kirkuk province, which the Kurds want to incorporate despite fierce opposition by the central government.
- AFP/yb
|
