BAGHDAD — Two weeks after Iraq's first democratic election, hopes for a better future have given way in some quarters to pessimism, or at least to more limited expectations, as resurgent violence and a delay in the final tally have added to political uncertainty.
Western and Iraqi officials said they had seen a slight decrease in violence against coalition forces. However, a string of attacks directed mainly at Shiite Muslims and ethnic Kurds left scores of civilians dead and shattered hopes that a significant portion of insurgents would desist after the election.
On Saturday, at least 21 people were killed in attacks even as election officials promised to release final results at 4 p.m. today.
In random interviews with more than 20 Iraqis across the country, conducted over recent days in five cities, Times correspondents found a range of moods. Some expressed deep disappointment; others still harbored hope that their lives would improve. Many were willing to wait and see whether the election victors could make a difference.
"It's true that it is all the same or even worse in some areas since the election, but this might be because results are not out yet," said Ahmed Hon Monty, a self-described optimist in the southern city of Basra who works for a private company.
"I am still sure that after the results are known," Monty said, "there will be a general agreement among the different political figures, a new legitimate government will be born, and general conditions, especially security, will improve."
But Huda Hadi, a resident of Mosul, in the north, was less optimistic. She considered the election an empty exercise, and she did not regret in the least her decision to boycott it.
"Elections have not changed anything, at all, at all," she said. "We will not have a president, unless the Americans pick him."
The election results have been delayed in part by a probe into charges of ballot tampering, news services reported. Partial results, however, indicate that an alliance of mainly Shiite Muslim groups is far ahead, followed by a partnership of the two main Kurdish parties and then a secular bloc led by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. Parties associated with Sunni Arabs, who largely boycotted the vote, appear to have fared poorly.
