Iraqis Defy Violence to Vote

At least 36 killed, but millions cast ballots

Women display inked fingers after casting votes in parliamentary elections in Baghdad, Iraq. (Photo credit: Hadi Mizban / AP)

March 7, 2010

BAGHDAD — Despite bombings, mortar rounds and grenades that claimed at least 36 lives, Iraqis voted Sunday in an election testing the mettle of the country’s still-fragile democracy.

About 19 million Iraqis were eligible to vote for who will lead the country after U.S. forces pull out, in an election that will determine whether Iraq can overcome the jagged sectarian divisions that have defined it since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. …

It could take three days to get results, U.N. officials say. And with the fractured nature of Iraqi politics, it could take months of negotiations after results are released in the coming days for a government to be formed.

Voters in the ethnically and religiously divided country were given a choice between secular groups and Shiite Islamist parties that have dominated Iraq since Saddam Hussein’s fall.

Despite mortars raining down nearby, voters in the capital still came to the polls. In the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah in northern Baghdad, Walid Abid, a 40-year-old father of two, was speaking as mortars boomed several hundreds yards away. Police reported at least 20 mortar attacks in the neighborhood shortly after daybreak. Mortars also fell in the Green Zone — home to the U.S. Embassy and the prime minister’s office. …

The Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaida affiliate, had warned Iraqis not to vote and vowed to attack those who defied them.

At least 19 people died in northeastern Baghdad after an explosion leveled a building, and mortar attacks in western Baghdad killed seven people in two different neighborhoods, police and hospital officials said.

In Baghdad’s northeast Hurriyah neighborhood, where mosque loudspeakers exhorted people to vote as “arrows to the enemies’ chest,” three people were killed when someone threw a hand grenade at a crowd heading to the polls, said police and hospital officials.

In the city of Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, a bomb inside a polling center killed a policeman, said Iraqi Army Col. Abdul Hussein. There were also explosions elsewhere in the country, but no further reports of fatalities.

Insurgents also launched mortars toward the Green Zone — home to the U.S. Embassy and the prime minister’s office – and in the Sunni stronghold of Azamiyah police reported at least 20 mortar attacks in the neighborhood since daybreak.

About 6,200 candidates were competing for 325 seats in the new parliament, Iraq’s second for a full term of parliament since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion seven years ago this month.

Many view the election as a crossroads at which Iraq will decide whether to adhere to politics along the Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish lines or move away from the ethnic and sectarian tensions that have emerged since the fall of Saddam’s iron-fisted, Sunni minority rule. …

Security was tight across the capital. The borders were sealed, the airport closed and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi military and police flooded the streets. …

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Late update

Video

Election brings hope to Iraqis, U.S. military (NBC Nightly News, March 8, 2010) — The U.S. military expressed confidence on Monday that drawdown plans are still on track after Iraq’s first self-organized national election drew 62 percent of voters nationwide. NBC’s Richard Engel reports. (03:02)

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3/18/10 Update

Chaos marks Iraq election vote tally (AP, March 18, 2010) — Ongoing chaos in Iraq’s postelection count has fueled uncertainty and allegations of fraud. Questions about the vote’s validity could undermine U.S. ambitions to set a standard for democracy in the Middle East. … There has been conflicting information about when results would be released, if released at all. … With 89 percent of the ballots counted, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law coalition is leading with roughly 40,000 votes over his closest competitor, former prime minister Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite who heads the Iraqiya coalition. … Full story

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3/22/10 Update

Recount calls add to Iraq’s political tension (AP, March 22, 2010) — Iraq’s president, Jalal Talabani, is demanding a recount in the parliamentary elections, intensifying the political conflict over the not-yet-completed tally. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s coalition is narrowly trailing in the overall vote tally to one led by former prime minister Ayad Allawi, with 95 percent of the vote counted. The election commission said it would release 100 percent of the results on Friday, nearly three weeks after the election. … Full story

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3/24/10 Update

Bid for Iraq vote recount intensifies (Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2010) — Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s camp warns of southern Shiites’ threat to sever ties with Baghdad. … Western diplomats and advisors to the Iraqi government described Maliki’s circle as terrified of losing power and said Iraq was entering a dangerous period. … Full story

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Karim Kadim / AP

Related reports on this site

Iraq Election Preview (March 6, 2010)

Iraq Set to Elect Pro-Iran Leader (Feb. 25, 2010)

Iraq Mass Casualty Bombing (Feb. 1, 2010)

Iraq War on Trial (Jan. 29, 2010)

Triple Bombing Rocks Baghdad (Jan. 25, 2010)

Iranian Troops Cross into Iraq (Dec. 18, 2009)

Deadly Violence Erupts in Iraq (Dec. 8, 2009)

Massive Bomb Attack on Iraq Govt (Oct. 25, 2009)

Bomb Blasts Across Baghdad (Aug. 19, 2009)

Mass Casualty Baghdad Bombings (May 21, 2009)

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — March 8, 2009

Iraqis carry the coffin of a relative who was killed in a suicide attack as they leave the mortuary of al-Kindi hospital in Baghdad, March 8, 2009. (Photo credit: Ahmad al-Rubaye / AFP — Getty Images)

Sunday Bloody Sunday in Iraq

One-year retrospective: One year ago today, I reported that a suicide bomber had killed 32 people at the entrance of Baghdad’s main police academy in a chilling reminder of the nation’s still-shaky security. The blast — the second major attack to hit Iraq in three days and the deadliest to strike Baghdad in nearly a month — was a bloody reminder of the ability of insurgents to defy security improvements and stage dramatic attacks as the U.S. begins to draw down its forces.