By Paul Tait and Mussab al-Khairalla
Reuters, 02 December 2005
The advertisements on Iraqi television offer a rose-tinted, none-too-subtle view of what parliamentary elections this month could mean for the future of the country.
A boy is shown looking out the window of a bus carrying him away from bombs and chaos. A man shackled to a wall is set free when ''the hammer of democracy'' smashes his manacles.
The point is clear: Iraqis face a choice between the violence of the past and a democratic, if uncertain, future.
But with just two weeks to go before the milestone December 15 elections, the tide of violence is swelling as insurgents try to disrupt the vote.
The daily list of bombings and killings, allegations of officially sanctioned torture and growing fears of a full-blown civil war belie the black-and-white choice between chaos and peace as depicted on national television.
In the short-term, election officials just hope they can run a safe and transparent vote.
As well as precarious security, there are also practical difficulties in organising a ballot in a country where electricity and water are in fitful supply and electoral rolls are based on lists of food ration cards.
''The electoral process is a work in progress,'' said Ashraf Qazi, head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq, which is providing technical help to prepare for the poll.
Notwithstanding the logistical challenges, Iraq's 15 million eligible voters are being bombarded with instructions to take part and vote for their first full-term parliament since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
SLOGANS ON SLABS In Baghdad, concrete blast walls, designed to protect people from all-too-frequent bomb attacks, have proved to be an ideal canvas for campaigners -- the stark grey slabs have been transformed with colourful posters and pictures.
Television and radio stations inundate Iraqis with election messages, a contrast to the more discreet campaign before January's vote for an interim parliament, a poll largely boycotted by the Sunni Arab minority, dominant under Saddam.
Sunni Arab insurgents vowed to kill anyone involved in that vote.
But after failing to defeat a constitutional referendum in October, Sunnis are now expected to vote in large numbers -- despite persistent security concerns.
As well as insurgent attacks on US-led forces and Iraq's fledgling national army, there are growing fears that a sectarian divide could trigger a full-blown civil war between Sunni Arabs and the Shi'ites who lead the interim government.
To protect voters, Iraqi officials have planned three concentric ''rings'' of security -- local police will secure polling stations, supported at a distance by the Iraqi army with US-led forces further away to be called on only in an emergency.
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Citation: Paul Tait and Mussab al-Khairalla. "Death or democracy: Iraqis offered unsubtle choice," Reuters, 02 December 2005.
Original URL: http://www.linkselection.be/detframe.asp?doit=1583559&what=Death-or-democracy:-Iraqis-offered-unsubtle-choice
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