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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lurqer who wrote (36999)	2/5/2004 2:50:50 AM
From: lurqer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Interesting line Even the United States appointed President Bush in an election that was far from perfect Iraqi Shi'ites say imperfect polls better than none Impatient for their voices to be heard after decades of being marginalized by Saddam Hussein, Iraqi Shi'ite leaders have a message for the country's foreign occupiers – imperfect elections are better than none at all. Even the United States appointed President Bush in an election that was far from perfect, they said. "We think that elections, even with some deficiencies, are much better than appointing the members of the transitional national assembly," the head of the military wing of Iraq's main Shi'ite political group told Reuters in an interview. "Even in countries with a long heritage of democracy and where elections are very important, like the United States, they could have some troubles, as in the last presidential elections," said Hassan al-Amiri, secretary-general of the Badr organization, the militia attached to the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. "But they went ahead and Bush won. So let's go through this experiment." In the 2000 U.S. presidential elections, Bush defeated Democrat Al Gore amid a backdrop of faulty voting machines and inaccurate registration rolls in the state of Florida. Shi'ites are leading the calls for the sovereign Iraqi government, due to take power by June 30, to be directly elected instead of chosen by local committees as Washington had planned. They say only an elected body would be legitimate. Amiri said that under Saddam political posts were filled through appointments rather than elections. The U.S. administration should not follow the same path. "The Americans are afraid of an Islamic parliament. They cannot stop elections forever. If it is not today, it will be tomorrow. This is the will of the Iraqi people," he said. U.N. INVESTIGATION A U.N. team is due to arrive this month to investigate, at Washington's request, whether elections are feasible. "This will be a historic assembly," Amiri said. "It will be in charge of shaping the new Iraq and therefore it should be legitimate." Iraq Shi'ite clerics say elections are important, not only to give legitimacy to a new Iraqi government but also to ensure that Iraq's 60 percent Shi'ite majority is given the influence it deserves in shaping the future of Iraq after decades of oppression under Saddam, a Sunni Muslim. They hope the U.N. team will back their demand for elections, and say that even if it does not, they may press their case through civil disobedience and mass demonstrations. Washington has argued that because there are no voter rolls, Iraq's infrastructure is still being rebuilt and security is precarious, elections cannot be held before end-June. But Amiri and other Shi'ite leaders say they don't see these factors as an impediment to elections. "Over 90 percent of Iraq is safe. The south is safe, the north is relatively safe," Amiri said. "The Iraqis are protecting hospitals, schools and other institutions. They can protect polling centres." Sunni Muslims, which formed Saddam's power base, fear they will lose out in early elections. But Amiri said if elections were not held, this would mean Iraq's political future was being held hostage by guerrillas. "Of course violence is a real threat, but that doesn't mean we stop elections forever," he said. "The only Iraqis who don't want elections are people who were benefiting from the former regime and don't see a future for themselves in the new Iraq." Amiri said if elections could not be held by June 30, the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council could take over sovereignty until elections were held later in the year. Washington's plan does not envisage elections until 2005. "They can hand sovereignty to the Governing Council by June 30 and then hold elections two to three months later," he said. signonsandiego.com lurqer