The Iraqi Election

I took it as a given that the Administration would spin the elections in Iraq as a victory for democracy, no matter what happened. I did not suppose that every media outlet in America - including my beloved NPR - would also proclaim it as a victory.

Much of what I would say on this topic has been said better by Rob Salkowitz. In this entry, he offers a brief civics lesson, while at the same time enumerating a number of the problems with proclaiming the Iraqi election a victory for democracy.

Let's not forget that over 150,000 American troups occupy the country. Let's not forget that the polling places were heavily guarded by those troops. The High Council for Elections was appointed by the occupying force. The current head of state, Ayad Allawi, was installed by the occupying force.

Enough Sunni boycotted the election to call its results into question.

For security reasons, there were no names on the ballot. People voted for a list, which could represent one person or a number of people. People were not voting for a party, in the sense we understand the term. There was little in the way of pre-election information, so people did not know what they were voting for.

Just a few months before the Americans invaded Iraq, there was another election. The only choice was Saddam Hussein. A majority voted for him. I agree with those who would question the validity of that election.

I would suggest, however, that the only difference between that event and what happened this past Sunday is in the number of candidates.