Allawi calls for unity as count progresses
Iraq’s interim leader called on his countrymen to set aside their differences today, while local precincts finished a first-phase count of millions of votes from the weekend election that many Iraqis hope will usher in democracy and hasten the departure of 150,000 American troops.
While they didn’t provide any numbers, electoral commission officials said turnout in hard-line Sunni areas was better than some had expected. However, a US diplomat said participation by Sunni Arab voters appeared to have been low - raising fears that the group that drives the insurgency could grow ever more alienated.
In his first news conference since the elections, Prime Minister Ayad Allawi called on Iraqis to join together to rebuild a society shattered by decades of war, tyranny, economic sanctions and military occupation.
“The terrorists now know that they cannot win,” Allawi said.
Electoral Commission official Adel al-Lami said a first phase of vote-counting at the individual polling stations was finished. Local centres are preparing tally sheets and sending them to Baghdad where they will be reviewed and vote totals will be compiled. He said the process could take up to 10 days.
Nevertheless, the country is already focusing on goals almost as challenging as the election itself: forming a new governing coalition once the vote is known, then writing a constitution and winning trust. Some fear the vote outcome could further alienate the once-powerful Sunni Muslim minority – many of whom apparently stayed away from the polls.
Although turnout figures were unavailable, a US diplomat said “good anecdotal information” indicated that “Sunni participation was considerably lower than participation by the other groups, especially in areas which have seen a great deal of violence".
In neighbouring Jordan, King Abdullah said Sunni participation was “a lot lower than any of us hoped".
On a positive note, he said elections and political reform were no longer taboo subjects in the Middle East.
The electoral commission said on Sunday it believed that turnout overall among the estimated 14 million eligible Iraqi voters appeared higher than the 57%, or eight million, that had been predicted before the vote.
However, the commission backtracked later on turnout estimates and said none would be available until the count was complete.
Because of low Sunni turnout, there were fears that many in the influential minority would not accept Sunday’s results.
A leading Sunni political faction complained that voters in large swaths of the country that are heavily Sunni were not able to vote. In some places, the lack of security forced polling stations to open late or not at all, officials said.
After an election ban on most daytime driving, cars again wove their way down Baghdad’s streets today. The city was relatively calm after a day of thundering mortar shelling and gunfire.
The absence of any catastrophic single attack Sunday seemed at least partly a result of the heavy security measures, including a ban on most private cars. At least 44 people were killed in election day violence, eight of them suicide bombers who blew up near polling sites in Baghdad.
It was still unclear if the successful vote would deal a significant blow to the insurgents, or rather lead to a short-term rise in violence. The militants might need time to regroup after the spate of attacks they launched in the weeks before the vote.
The historic election came only seven months after Iraq’s interim government took over from a US-led coalition, and less than two years after Saddam’s overthrow.
The 275 member National Assembly, elected for an 11 month term, will draft a permanent constitution, and if the document is approved, Iraqis will vote for a permanent government in December. If the document is rejected, Iraqis will repeat the whole process again.
