Iraq’s provincial elections, a major test of democracy

TEHRAN,April 30(MNA)--In the first election since U.S. troops left their country, Iraqis voted for provincial councils on Saturday, the outcome of which will be a key measure of Iraq’s ability to exercise democracy on its own. The election is also a major test of political parties’ strength ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections. The Iraqi Constitution does not grant the provincial councils a great deal of power. However, the results of Saturday’s election will certainly determine the country’s political alignment in the future. According to the initial results, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s State of Law Coalition has won a slim majority over its rivals. Over the past month, some provinces have been the scene of street demonstrations against Maliki and his government, which many say are coordinated by foreign governments. The final result of the elections will be of great importance for Maliki since it will provide information about his base of support among Iraqi voters. Despite protests in the run-up to the election, the voting was mostly peaceful and proved that the Iraqi government is capable of staging a sound election without the presence of foreign troops. The only glitch was the fact that voting was delayed in Anbar and Nineveh provinces because of the government’s concerns about security. But the Iraqi cabinet has announced that the council elections will be held in those provinces on July 4. The turnout was not so high and stood at 51 percent, the same as the previous provincial council elections in 2009. However, the well-organized elections gave the lie to the massive propaganda campaign by Western and Arab media outlets claiming that Iraq cannot exercise democracy on its own because it lacks security and infrastructure. This is a major step for Iraq on the path of democratization, although there is still a long journey ahead. Siamak Kakayi is a political analyst and expert on Turkey and Iraq based in Tehran. (By Siamak Kakayi )