15 December 2005
Bush Says Iraqi Election a "Major Milestone" Toward Democracy
Praises courage of Iraqi voters for defying terrorist threats against voting
Washington -- President Bush welcomed Iraq’s first election for a permanent government since the 2003 removal of Saddam Hussein’s regime, saying the December 15 voter turnout was significant, and was not accompanied by a high level of violence.
At the White House, the president met with five Iraqi out-of-country voters who had cast their ballots earlier in the day and expressed his pleasure at seeing Iraqis “accomplish this major milestone in the march to democracy.”
Bush congratulated the Iraqi people for their courage in “defying the terrorists and refusing to be cowed into not voting,” adding “I believe freedom is universal.”
He also thanked the international community and U.S. Embassy personnel in Iraq for their work in facilitating the election.
The president assured Iraqi voters that the United States will complete its mission in Iraq, which he said is to help the country become able to sustain and defend itself, and to become a democracy that serves as an example to its neighbors, and an ally in the War on Terror.
Approximately 15 million Iraqi citizens, at home and abroad, are eligible to vote in the election. At stake are all 275 seats in Iraq’s Council of Representatives. Those who are elected will serve four-year terms and will choose the country’s presidency council. To ensure broader representation, 45 of the seats are reserved for political parties whose ethnic, religious or political support is spread over more than one of Iraq’s 18 provinces, and one-third of the candidates in each party are women.
The full text of President Bush’s remarks is available on the White House Web site.
At the White House press briefing, press secretary Scott McClellan said the election is “a historic day for the people of Iraq, the Middle East and the world,” and “a historic day for the advance of freedom.” (See related article.)
He said Sunni participation in the vote “appears to be large,” and significantly higher than during the January election for the country’s interim government.
McClellan said it would take time for the results to come in before a national government can be formed, noting that, “it takes a two-thirds vote of the assembly to choose the presidency council.”
He also warned that in the coming days more terrorist attacks should be expected “to try to spread fear and chaos and violence.” McClellan said such attacks “can only shake our will,” and cannot defeat the process in and of themselves.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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