Iraq's politicians first to vote in Sunday's poll

By Fadi al-Issa in Baghdad
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-03-08

[ALI ABBAS/AFP/Getty Images] Iraq's former prime minister and head of the Iraqi National Movement, Iyad Allawi, casts his vote in Baghdad.

Led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi politicians went one after the other to the ballot box at the polling centre at al-Rasheed Hotel in mid-town Baghdad in the early hours of Sunday (March 7th) amid intensive and live media coverage.

After leaving the polling station al-Maliki said, "Iraqis have come a long way towards independence and building of sovereignty, and the election results will enhance voters' trust in candidates. The sound bombs won't dissuade them from their determination to make progress and achieve success."

Al-Maliki downplayed the importance of terrorist attempts that targeted the polling centres in an effort to prevent citizens from voting. "Some of the attacks that took place this morning came to confirm my knowledge of the Iraqi people, to the effect that the greater the challenges are, the stronger the people's determination will be to build a sovereign country whose funds are spent on building it."

Al-Maliki praised the role played by the Iraqi security forces that were deployed to the streets to protect voters and polling centres.

For his part, Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi said after casting his vote, "I'm happy with my participation in today's poll to choose the future leaders of the country as an ordinary citizen. I'm happy to participate in drawing the future for the Iraqi people."

"I'm also happy with this democratic experiment, which started to grow over the last years," al-Hashimi added. "I'm happy with Iraqis' endeavour in the election and their real desire in active participation."

Millions of Iraqis went to polling stations starting in the early hours of Sunday to cast their votes and choose 325 MPs for the next Iraqi Parliament from thousands of candidates and hundreds of political entities and coalitions.

A number of them were killed or wounded in blasts that took place in different areas of Baghdad and targeted a number of polling centres and voters.

Official spokesperson for Baghdad Operations Command Qassim Atta said, "A number of martyrs and wounded people fell victim to attacks. Most of the attacks were sound bombs, but some were Katyusha rockets and hand grenades. However, I want to confirm that security was excellent, and this was represented by the increasing numbers of voters who went to the ballot boxes and by the lifting of curfew. The deployment of security forces in all areas and cities and the implementation of the election security plan have made the election a success and put an end to the terrorism that tried to destroy Iraqi determination with all of its capabilities, but just failed."

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said, "This morning, we woke up to the sound of explosions aimed at preventing Iraqi voters from voting. However, everyone must respect the will of the people and prepare the ground for proper election so that the people may vote. Everyone must be optimistic and intensify their efforts."

"The methods of terrorism won't terrorize the Iraqi people," Allawi added. "The Iraqi people won't retract, and their history shows that they are a heroic, generous and strong people, and that such matters won't frighten them. We have great trust that the Iraqi people will cast their votes very clearly so that they may bring to office their elected officials and not anyone else."

Meanwhile, head of Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq Ammar al-Hakim described the election as "a huge ceremony and a national epic written by the Iraqi people with their purple fingers, with their own will, presence and broad participation in the election."

In a statement to journalists, al-Hakim said, "Today is the day of the Iraqi people; the day of the impoverished and destitute, when everyone says they will have a role, effect and value for the future of the country in boosting the traditions of democracy, freedom and dignity of this great people."

Iraqi and foreign media intensively covered the events of the Iraqi parliamentary election. Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani described it as a "healthy phenomenon accompanying the election and a message from the Iraqi people to the world."

"Today, by electing the members of the next Council of Representatives, Iraqis are sending a message to the world, that they are over the past and are moving towards democracy by getting past dictatorship and coups towards balances, plurality and will," he said.

"We expected that some attacks would take place, but they didn't have an affect, given that the security conditions are much better," al-Bolani added. "This has led to lifting the curfew in full in most Iraqi cities hours after the start of voting as an indication of the major security improvement. I hope that the people will, through this election and after their long wait, achieve what they aspire to by choosing those who represent their aspirations. The fact that there was broad participation in the election indicates that the conditions will improve in the future."

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