14 December 2005
Iraqis in U.S. Cast Votes for Iraq's National Parliament
Voting stations open across United States in first day of polling
By Tanya Salseth Feau
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- An estimated 240,000 Iraqis living in the United States are eligible to vote in their country's landmark December 15 elections, and have the chance to participate -- albeit from a distance -- via absentee ballots.
Eight voting stations in California, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee and Virginia opened at 9 a.m. local time December 13 to give Iraqi nationals the opportunity to participate in the election of the first fully constitutional government in their nation's history.
Iraqi expatriates have three days to cast absentee ballots in elections for the 275-member Iraq Council of Representatives, which will select the next prime minister and president of Iraq. More than 200 political parties, representing some 7,000 candidates, are on the ballot.
"While the U.S. government is not organizing this process," a December 12 State Department press release noted, "we support the enfranchisement of Iraqis in the United States."
Iraqi voters who came to the polling station in McLean, Virginia, December 13 said they were excited and hopeful about the elections. Many came dressed in their best suits; some had driven hundreds of miles to get there.
One voter sported a homemade hat made out of tiny Iraqi flags and held a sign reading "Yes, Freedom. No, Terrorists. Thanks USA." Others held up Iraqi flags or posters of their preferred candidates.
“Even if I had to walk 300 miles, I would come vote,” said Goran Rahim, a 22-year-old Kurd who has been living in Reston, Virginia, since he left Iraq with his family six years ago.
“If the right people come to power, things are going to change,” he said.
Rahim, who has been studying international politics and dreams of becoming a diplomat, sees possibilities in a new government for his home country.
“These past three years were years of change, but it’s getting better," he said. "People have jobs now, they have freedom. They can say what they want.
“People believe their vote can change things.”
Voters living in Iraq will go to the polls on December 15, under tight security.
Speaking about the Iraq elections to the Philadelphia World Affairs Council December 12, President Bush said: "Millions of Iraqis will put their lives on the line this Thursday in the name of liberty and democracy. And 160,000 of America's finest are putting their lives on the line so Iraqis can succeed. The American and Iraqi people share the same interests and the same enemies." (See related article.)
To involve Iraqis living abroad in the electoral process, the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI), an autonomous, nonpartisan electoral entity made up of Iraqi nationals, set up voting stations in 15 countries.
The United States, Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Sweden, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates were all chosen by the transitional government of Iraq to host polling centers, based on their large concentrations of Iraqi expatriates.
For additional information on the elections, see Iraq’s Political Process.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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