| Shia and kurdish voters flocked to polling stations { January 30 2005 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://news.ft.com/cms/s/47e18596-72ea-11d9-86a0-00000e2511c8.htmlhttp://news.ft.com/cms/s/47e18596-72ea-11d9-86a0-00000e2511c8.html
Iraqis defy attacks to go to polls By Roula Khalaf in London Published: January 30 2005 18:23 | Last updated: January 30 2005 21:08
Shia and Kurdish voters flocked to polling stations across Iraq yesterday to assert their democratic rights after decades of oppression, defying efforts by insurgents to disrupt the vote. But in the first free elections for 50 years, a mixed picture emerged from the Sunni Arab heartland, which has been worst hit by the insurgency.
A higher-than-expected turnout was reported in some towns, including Tikrit, birthplace of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein. But elsewhere, including Falluja and Ramadi, polling stations were deserted.
Initial estimates from Iraq's electoral commission last night put the national turnout at up to 60 per cent, but officials warned this was based on “impressions and feelings” of local officials.
Polling day started with a spate of attacks by mostly Sunni insurgents on polling stations in Baghdad, Basra in the south and Mosul and Samarra in the north, leaving at least 36 people dead.
The death of British troops in a C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft that crashed near Balad, some 35 miles north-west of Baghdad, also cast a shadow over the day. The circumstances and number of casualties were unclear, however. The violence failed to damp the enthusiasm of many Iraqis, particularly among the Shia majority and the Kurdish minority, to help choose the 275-member assembly. President George W. Bush, speaking after the polls had closed, declared the elections “a resounding success”. Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, hailed “the emergence of an Iraqi voice for freedom”, though she said many difficulties lay ahead.
Tony Blair, the British prime minister, said it was “moving and humbling” to see the courage of millions of Iraqis vote despite the dangers. Without confirming the number of deaths in the Hercules crash, Mr Blair paid tribute to UK forces in Iraq.
Western experts involved in preparations for the elections said they had witnessed “a breathtaking experience.” One said: “The vote wasn't perfect but it wasn't the debacle that people thought it would be.”
In some parts of the country, US troops joined officials and preachers to call on voters to deal a blow to intimidation and defy calls for a boycott from Sunni Arab parties. Across Iraq, cities were closed to traffic amid extraordinary security measures, and families walked to polling stations. The results may not be known for several days. But the United Iraqi Alliance, blessed by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq's most influential Shia cleric, was expected to emerge as the largest bloc in parliament.
The national assembly will pick Iraq's next government and draft a permanent constitution.
The vote is a turning point for Iraq's Shia, giving them their first chance to influence decision-making in a way that reflects their numbers.
The Kurdish minority is also hoping that a strong showing in the poll will help it enhance its regional autonomy
Yesterday's election was a defining moment for US foreign policy after the divisive invasion of Iraq. A high turnout would represent a rare boost to the White House, helping to change perceptions that Iraq is in danger of spiralling into civil war.
But no one is expecting the elections to have an immediate impact on the level of violence.
“It's the first step in a democratic process,“ Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general, said of the elections. “It's the beginning, not the end.”
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