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Troops in place on eve of Iraqi vote
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-15 08:30
Troops were in place, the borders were closed and the ballots were ready early Thursday on the eve of Iraqi parliamentary elections that the U.S. hopes will build democracy and lay the groundwork for American troops to begin returning home.
A coalition of Shiite religious parties, which dominate the current government, was expected to win the largest number of seats — but not enough to form a new administration without alliances with rival groups.
The Bush administration hopes the new parliament will include more Sunni Arabs to help establish a government that can lure other Sunnis away from the insurgency. Such a development would make it possible for the United States and its partners to start to draw down their troops next year.
With Sunni insurgent groups promising not to attack the polls, voter turnout was expected to be high Thursday.
However, police arrested two suspected insurgents carrying 72 bombs, police Lt. Col. Ahmed Hajoul said. He said the pair said they planned to hide the bombs Wednesday night in the largely Shiite city of Hillah to explode when the polls opened.
A loud explosion was also heard in central Baghdad shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday, hours after police said several mortar shells exploded in southwest Baghdad, setting some shops on fire.
Iraqi policemen block a street in Najaf, Iraq, Wednesday Dec. 14, 2005. [AP] |
There were also signs of the sectarian tensions that threaten the nation's future and the Bush administration strategy: Angry Shiites protested what they considered to be a televised slur on the country's religious leadership, and rumors spread of ballots smuggled in from Iran.
Nevertheless, most of Baghdad's streets were eerily quiet Wednesday, with police strictly enforcing a traffic ban. Only an occasional siren, a sporadic gunshot, a U.S. helicopter, or shouts from boys playing soccer could be heard.
Up to 15 million Iraqis were to choose 275 members of the new parliament from among 7,655 candidates running on 996 tickets, representing Shiite, Sunni, Kurdish, Turkomen and sectarian interests across a wide political spectrum. Iraqis do not vote for individual candidates, but instead for lists — or tickets — that compete for the seats in each of the 18 provinces.
Some preliminary returns were expected late Thursday, but final, complete returns could take days if not weeks.
"Let us make tomorrow a national celebration, a day of national unity and victory over terrorism and those who oppose our democratic march," President Jalal Talabani told a nationwide television audience.
Election of the new parliament, which will serve a four-year term, marks the final step in the U.S. blueprint for democracy. The vote will cap a process that included the transfer of sovereignty last year, selection of an interim parliament Jan. 30 and ratification of the constitution in October. The new parliament will name a government, including a new prime minister.
"In spite of the violence, Iraqis have met every milestone," President Bush said in Washington.
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