ChardonnayJ

Chardonnay Jones Mrs. Downey Am Writers 8 May 2008 Why is the Iraqi election important? There are many reasons why the Iraqi election is important to its people. First it is the people’s desire to get rid of U.S. forces occupying their country. This and many other factors come in play of giving high numbers of citizens who would vote. Despite what odds in the past they have faced, including the candidates of the election was kept secret, [|many continued to vote]. In the end the turnout of the Iraqi election was the total opposite of what they had predicted or anticipated. The main reason Iraqis went to the polls was out of hope in establishing their own government, and opposes U.S. forces occupying their country. This election was also seen as an important milestone in the history of their country. Iraqis understood the importance of the election and that they were moving forward with courage and determination in the face of brutal violence and calculated intimidation aimed at preventing the election and defeating democracy. It was estimated more than fourteen million Iraqis were registered to vote. Nineteen thousand or more candidates are running for the Transitional National Assembly (TNA). Even Iraqis in fourteen countries worldwide are able to cast their votes for the National Assembly. The national ballot alone was to have 100 coalitions and parties contesting for seats in the TNA. For safety of the citizens U.S trained thousands of Iraqis to administer the election, signed a greater number to the polls and conducts other Election Day duties. It was predicted that Iraqis had to vote for a 275 member Transitional National assembly. Political parties submitted lists of candidates, and every third name had to be a woman’s. These candidates had to be at least thirty years old. Also parties of groups with militias could not run nor could current members of the armed forces. The seats were allocated by exact proportional representation to make sure no parties had an unfair advantage. To make the election even harder the identities of the candidates were publicly disclosed and were to remain a secret until after Election Day. A foreign election adviser reveals his/her attitude towards this situation with this statement “Not having the candidates names known is far from ideal for an election, but I think we can all understand the fears over their safety. Security is a very big issue for all candidates” (exerted from Iraq Election Candidates to be Kept Secret) Instead Iraqis voted from selections of 111 political parties, each with its own slates of candidates that can be included between 12 and 275 names. This election has no intention in replacing the tyranny of a small majority. The election serves as treating the whole country as one constituency. In fact, many coalitions are candidates from varies ethnic and religious backgrounds. Such as, the slate led by Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a Shiite, and President Ghanzi Yawar, a Sunni, each containing candidates from multiple ethnicities and religious sects. U.S. officials have hoped for a victory by pro-U.S. slate led by [|Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.] U.S. organization also allowed up to 2 million Iraqi born expatriates to vote. They even had voting centers for emigrants living in the United States established at numerous military bases. When the election was finish the assembly now has law-making powers. They first elect a state presidency council made up of a president and two deputies. The council in turn chooses a prime minister who would select other ministers. These ministers then vote on the make-up of the government. The prime minister is the key figure of this whole process and many other government related issues. The voter’s turn-out was more than sixty percent and was well over eighty percent in areas predominately populated by Shiites and Kurds. The turnout was low in Sunni Arabs areas due to a combination of fears from insurgent’s attacks and boycott of the election by major Sunni Arab political parties protesting the high numbers of civilian causalities. In conclusion, there are many reasons why the Iraqi election is important to its people. Some outsiders of Iraq would say it is obvious to why the election is so important. The event is seen as a step closer for Iraq people as a country to become independent. It is kind of great to see this country get through being face with mass hysteria and establish itself as a government. It is even more worthwhile because this even is now and will be an historical moment that the world had experience first hand. Work Cited Department of Defense. "Ayad Allawi casts vote." __United States__ __at War:Image__. 2008. ABC-CLIO. 30 Apr 2008 . Hadley, Steve. "A Day of Iraqi Hope." __Wahingtonpost__. 2005. The Washington Post Company. 2 May 2008 . Jones, Alex. "Iraq Election Candidates To Be Kept Secret." __Prison Planet__. 15 Jan. 2005. Christain Science Monitor. 2 May 2008 . "Major parties in Iraq's election." __USATODAY__. 2008. Garnnett Co. Inc. 30 Apr. 2008 . "Q&A: Iraqi election." __BBCNEWS__. 13 Feb. 2005. BBC MMVIII. 21 Apr. 2008 . Repp, David. Iraqi Votes 2005. News & Politics. Baghdad, Iraq. 31 Oct. 2007. YouTube. 31 Oct. 2007. 8 May 2008 . Zunes, Stephen. “Iraqi Elections(2005):Middle East Wars. __“____United States__ __at War:Understanding Conflict and Society.__ 2008. ABC-CLIO. 30 Apr. [|http://www.usatwar.abc-clio.com]