Iraqis show mixed response to polls (aljazeera Arab newspaper)

[2Design]

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/674D4BC3-BDA3-41AF-9D40-B80D79F812F9.htm

s polls opened across the country, early signs showed a poor turnout of voters in Mosul. US soldiers were seen driving around city blocks asking why residents were not voting.



Despite a heavy US and Iraqi National Guard presence and no civilian vehicular traffic, six explosions rocked the city. The general hospital had no immediate word on casualties.



Voter turnout was heavy in Al-Qadisiya district of the city, however. A polling station for the city's Kurdish population is located in the heart of the district.

<snip>

[Igel]

1. "Let's ignore the elephant in the room".

Kurds are nationalists; Sunni Arabs are principled.

And the Shi'a? (what was that noise? Chia?)

[sabra]

2. Aljazeera: Confusion surrounds Iraq poll turnout

<<SNIP>>
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B49A6A7B-9FE7-4C65-BA06-11461071FEAA.htm

Confusion surrounds Iraq poll turnout

Sunday 30 January 2005, 21:39 Makka Time, 18:39 GMT

Politicians announced a higher turnout than expected

Confusion has surrounded turnout statistics in Iraq's election, with the Election Commission backtracking on a statement that 72 percent had voted, but leading politicians insisting the turnout was high.

The commission said its initial tally had been little more than a guess based on local estimates.

"Turnout figures recently announced represent the enormous and understandable enthusiasm felt in the field on this historic day," a commission statement said.


"However, these figures are only very rough,word-of-mouth estimates gathered informally from the field. It will take some time for the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq to issue accurate figures on turnout."


<</SNIP>>

[Borgnine]

3. But but but but but but but...

....CNN and NBC and Fox and ABC and MSNBC all said that freedom was on the march!

[mojaverose]

6. "Hot Stuff" Dean

WHERE can I get a copy of that picture for my wall? whoo whee

[Junkdrawer]

4. Sh*t. I doubt the govt has any idea how many Iraqis are still alive...

much less how many turned out for the "election".

[sabra]

5. Many people here stated that they would leach on to anything

to make things look like a huge success...

[teryang]

7. They just put the number out there based on anecdotal

...reports. I don't think many voted in Samarra, Najaf, or Fallajah. One of the file tapes they keep showing looks like Mosul.

[VegasWolf]

8. Wolf Blitzer on CNN just reporting 100% turnout in some precincts!

Yeah, they must have one person registered to vote in that precinct.

[Rose Siding]

11. Wide banners on both the WP and NYT trumpet high turnout

Iraqi Turnout Higher Than Expected
http://www.washingtonpost.com/

and NYT is having a big ol' celebration, sans ambiguity about the turn out...

Iraqi Voters Turn Out in High Numbers
Despite Attacks Intended to Deter Them

Violence Fails to Spoil a Party Atmosphere on Baghdad's Streets

Bush Hails Iraq Vote as 'a Resounding Success'

Najaf: Good Turnout in Shiites' Holiest City

Basra: Early Calm, Then a Festive Stream of Voters

http://nytimes.com/

one story just added on Blairs' confirmation of Brit deaths.

[arikara]

12. I get it... they'll say now that there is a surprisingly high turnout

and the media whores will happily gush over the story without any independant research. Then when the truth comes out it will be totally buried and not reported at all by the msm. So the propaganda will be that the Iraqi election was a great success.

[cal04]

9. AMS critical of Iraq elections

Iraq's influential Association of Muslim Scholars has told Aljazeera that the low turnout by Sunni Arabs in elections was due to a lack of real choice and military occupation.In an interview broadcast before polling stations closed on Sunday, Muhammad al-Kubaysi said low turnout in places such as Baghdad, Baquba and Samarra could have been prevented if there had been more time to create a genuine election.

"The voter goes to the polling stations not knowing who he is voting for in the first place. There are more than 7700 candidates, and I challenge any Iraqi voter to name more than half a dozen." He also criticised the huge number of groups on voting lists in which it was virtually impossible to know who was standing for election and what the candidate's background was.

"Their names have not been announced but have been kept secret … elections should never have been held under these present circumstances," he said."Even 80% of Iraqis living abroad in complete safety refused to register their names . This shows that the low turnout in many areas is not a security problem. "Rather, it demonstrates a growing Iraqi awareness that these elections are indeed an American and not Iraqi initiative", al-Kubaysi said

Asked whether the influential group was looking to upset a transition to democracy by rejecting elections, al-Kubaysi replied: "These elections … are a means of establishing the foreign forces in Iraq and keeping Iraq under the yoke of occupation … they should have been postponed."

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/F1149ACC-43EE-4BA6-AD8A-AC9D62290514.htm

[teryang]

10. Secret candidates- interesting concept

If one doesn't know the names - presumbably one doesn't know anything about them as well when they go to the polls.