Iraqis Vote Despite Violence: Now Comes the Hard Part
James Phillips /
Despite insurgent threats to murder Iraqis who dared to vote in the parliamentary elections, yesterday’s Iraqi elections went as well as could be expected. There were dozens of bombs that exploded in Baghdad and other cities, killing at least 36 people, but many Iraqis shrugged off the violence and risked their lives to vote.
The turnout was estimated to be about 62 percent of Iraq’s 19 million eligible voters, which is down from the estimated 76 percent turnout in the last parliamentary elections in December 2005. But a positive sign was that turnout in Sunni Arab areas appears to have increased significantly over 2005, when many Sunnis boycotted the elections. This could lead to greater Sunni participation in the next government, which could further weaken Iraq’s faltering insurgency. Also, this time around the security duties were handled by Iraq’s security services instead of the 96,000 U.S. troops still in the country.