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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 ¡ª 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 ¡ª or tickets
¡ª 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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