Iraqi leaders declare election a success

By Mohammed Al Qaisi in Baghdad
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-03-11

[AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images] Iraqis count votes at the Independent High Electoral Commission headquarters in Baghdad on March 11, 2010.

Iraqi politicians and MPs described Sunday's (March 7th) parliamentary election as a success and the beginning of a new era in the country.

Addressing the Iraqi people, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said that "election day is a day of defeat for terrorism and those who stand against the will of the people and those who are not happy with seeing democracy and freedom."

Al-Maliki added that the election confirmed "the failure of terrorism plans and challenges."

While celebrating the completion of parliamentary elections, Al-Maliki called on the political entities that will win seats to work hard "to make up for the deprivation that the Iraqi people have suffered at the hands of dictatorship and criminal and terrorist gangs."

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said in a statement that the election was "a historical day in which the winner was the Iraqi people, whether Kurds or Arabs or any other minorities."

Talabani noted that "the success of the election is proof of Iraq's recovery and eminence. It also shows that Iraq can get rid of the problems that impede its way, including terrorism and the forces of extremism and evil."

Vice President Adil Abdul Mahdi described the election as a battle against terrorism and backwardness.

"The democratic experiment in Iraq is becoming more established and profound with each election held in the country," Abdul Mahdi said in a statement. "The balance of power is now in favour of the Iraqi people who will move ahead with great determination to defeat terrorism and evil forces."

Council of Representatives Speaker Ayad al-Samarraie praised what he described as the unique courage of Iraqis.

"The Iraqi people are not intimidated by threats of killers and terrorists," al-Samarraie said in a statement. "They are a people who deserve respect and a happy life. We are proud of our people because they have spoken without fear or extortion. Therefore, they deserve to see good things in the near future."

The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced Monday that turnout in the parliamentary election was 62.5 percent in all areas across Iraq. Iraqi officials also estimate that 275,000 Iraqis voted abroad from March 5-7. Roughly 11.7 million Iraqis cast their ballots, according to the electoral commission.

Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Aiden Khalid, head of the election high security committee, said in a press conference held after the election that the security plan implemented by the Iraqi forces to protect voters and polling stations had succeeded and that "the members of all sectors and formations of security agencies proved that they are heroes capable of protecting the country."

The Iraqi government ordered the deployment of about 1 million security troops across Iraq to prevent any terrorist attacks against polling centres and voters.

"The task of the security forces hasn't ended yet and will continue until the last terrorist cell in the country is eliminated," Khalid added.

Gen. Qassim Atta, spokesperson for the Baghdad Operations Command, said that "the attempts by terrorists on election day were desperate and unsuccessful. People just continued to flock to the polling centres."

Atta added that the Iraqi forces thwarted four attempts to attack polling centres and arrested five suspects who were planning attacks.

"The attacks that took place were mostly staged using sound bombs," Atta noted. "Their attempts didn't succeed in dissuading the will of Iraqi voters. This makes us declare that the election was fully successful."

Maj. Gen. Hasan Kareem, commander of the Iraqi Army in northern Iraq, said that "the security plan was a purely Iraqi one. It's the first of its type of that size to be implemented by the Iraqi forces."

"The Iraqi forces proved their ability to deal with emergency plans and difficult missions," Kareem added.

The Iraqi government said that the Iraqi security forces lifted the curfew which had been imposed on all Iraqi cities and was supposed to end Monday morning once the security situation improved.

In a statement to Mawtani.com, MP Safia al-Suhail said, "The determination of Iraqis to go to the polling centres in spite of the many bombings that rocked the capital sent an important message to the terrorists to the effect that the Iraqi people won't relinquish their democratic right in the face of the most difficult circumstances."

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