It’s far too early to tell whether democracy will sink lasting roots in the troubled soils of Iraq’s fertile crescent. But it’s encouraging to note that the Iraqi people have now successfully completed three elections in a year – clearly a promising sign.
Unlike January’s elections for a provisional government, turnout was heavy in Thursday’s balloting for four-year seats in Iraq’s new parliament. Sunni Muslims mostly stayed away last January, but their participation is essential for a unified Iraq and they turned out this week in heavy numbers. Sunni leaders who urged a boycott of the January election switched tactics this time in order to get a larger voice in the new National Assembly.
Iraq’s innate ethnic rivalries mean that the strong turnout is potentially a two- edged sword. A government truly representative of the Iraqi people also inevitably will represent some of the centrifugal forces seeking to separate the Kurdish north, the Shiite south and the Sunni central portion of Iraq. The fact that each faction turned out to bolster its forces for the coming power struggle underscores the inevitability that there will be such a struggle.
Yet, the heavy turnout also underscores the very real benefits of the democratic process. For now, at least, the disparate factions in Iraq are pursuing their interests through peaceful means. That’s a prerequisite for establishing a legitimate government that can defend itself against domestic insurgents and the foreign troublemakers who’ve infiltrated Iraq to foment trouble for both the U.S. and moderate Iraqi leaders.
When the votes have been counted, Iraq’s newly elected leaders must craft a government sharing power between the three major factions. The government must also find a way to ensure the nation’s oil revenues benefit all Iraqis, not just residents of Shiite and Kurdish areas where the reserves are mostly located.
Friday, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey, said he believes by late next fall the Iraqi military should be able to take the lead in the country’s defense, with ongoing support from U.S. and coalition transition teams. Iraqi police forces, Casey said, may likewise be able to take charge of internal security by late 2006 or early 2007 – a blueprint that seems artfully tailored to next year’s U.S. congressional elections.
Iraq’s growing familiarity with the democratic process should help speed the day when Iraqis and Americans alike will herald the end of an unpopular occupation.
