BAGHDAD — In elections expected to significantly alter the country's political equation, Iraqis today began choosing new provincial councils to replace the current ones, blamed for fueling years of sectarian strife.
Late Friday, vehicular curfews took effect in cities, Baghdad's airport was closed and borders were sealed, signs of security concerns that remain high despite a major drop in violence in recent months. Polling stations were ringed with razor wire and under 24-hour police guard. At one site, police Lt. Dhia Khadim bragged that voters had to undergo six searches before casting their ballots.
"It's essential," Khadim said as a rooster crowed nearby and wind sent dust swirling about the courtyard of the school serving as polling place.
Saad Hassan was the first in line to vote at a polling station in east Baghdad's Sadr City, the Shiite stronghold of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada Sadr. He woke up at 6 a.m., prayed, and brought his family with him, walking in the dim and dusty light of the early morning through an area that less than a year ago was engulfed in fighting between Shiite militiamen and U.S. and Iraqi security forces.
"We are sick of the religious figures, which brought only chaos to our country," Hassan said after voting for a secular party.
Koudir Oudah Kahdum voted at the same station, but for the Islamic Dawa Party of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. As with many Iraqis, memories of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship swayed his decision. "It was Maliki who implemented his execution," Kahdum said, referring to Hussein's hanging in 2006. Maliki "is a brave man and our hero," he said. "He deserves that we vote for him again and again."
At stake are 440 seats on 14 provincial councils, the equivalent of U.S. state legislatures.
The current councils are dominated by Shiites and ethnic Kurds, even in areas where Sunni Arabs dominate, a result of a boycott of the 2005 elections by Sunni Arab parties. The lopsided councils and Sunnis' lack of power served to exacerbate sectarian and ethnic tensions that had boiled over into violence and have continued to hinder political progress.
The elections are seen as a barometer of Iraq's ability to remain relatively calm as U.S. military forces scale back their presence. A smooth process could also boost President Obama's desire to accelerate the U.S. troop withdrawal, something he has said he wants to achieve within 16 months. That places U.S. military commanders in Iraq in a delicate situation. They are eager to highlight Iraq's improved security and point to the elections as a milestone, but they also warn against a hasty withdrawal of the 140,000 American troops here.
