Iraqi party chief sees compromised vote as seed for future dispute
17/1/2005 15:50
Lack of security makes it impossible to stage a free and fair general
election in Iraq as scheduled for Jan. 30, and a compromised vote would sow
seeds for future disputes among Iraqis and drag out the occupation forces' stay
in the country, an Iraqi Sunni political leader said Sunday.
A rushed
election would only add pains to the Iraqi people, said Mohsen Abdul Hamid, head
of the Iraqi Islamic Party, one of the country's major Sunni parties.
When
Iraqis are living in fear of their lives everyday, postponing the polls until
the situation improves would be in the best interest of them, Hamid told Xinhua
in an exclusive interview.
Iraqis will elect on Jan. 30 a 275-member interim
national assembly that would in turn form a transitional government and draft a
permanent constitution before another round of elections at the end of the
year.
While the US occupation and the Iraqi interim government are geared up
for the vote, the Islamic Party cried foul after learning that a large number of
voters have been denied access even to registration forms.
The party withdrew
its 275-member candidate list from the race in protest against lack of security
and transparency in electoral arrangements. It advocates a six-month delay of
the vote, saying the situation would improve by then.
"The security
conditions are going from bad to worse in provinces. Obviously, it would be
impossible to hold the elections in about five to six provinces, which hold more
than one third of the Iraqi population," Hamid said.
The Iraqi government
admitted Saturday that four out of 18 Iraqi provinces would be insecure for
broad participation in the landmark elections, and the government is in talks
with political parties and local leaders to get the greatest participation
possible.
WINNER OF PEOPLE'S HEARTS
Hardly a day goes by in Iraq without a
roadside or car bomb attack against Iraqi and US forces.
Religious figures,
government officials and police chiefs across the country continued to be gunned
down by insurgents. Hard- core anti-US military groups have threatened to shoot
voters or blow up polling stations if Iraqis dare venture out on the voting
day.
Several Sunni groups have argued that it's premature to hold elections
when people are not even guaranteed a safe return to their homes after casting
ballots. A good number of them are expected to lie low.
Hamid said pulling
out of the election does not mean the party has lost the race. "We are the
winners as we have stayed closer to our society and able to express our hopes
and pains. After all, we won the hearts and minds of people," he said.
Hamid
was one of the four Sunnis in the 25-member Iraqi Governing Council, which was
appointed by the US occupation in July 2003 and dissolved a year later after the
installation of the interim government.
However, Hamid said his party "is not
boycotting the elections, as can be proved by the list we have fielded for the
electoral commission." The Islamic Party presented a list including 275
candidates for the running.
A major player in the Iraqi political arena, the
Islamic Party participated in the interim government. But it pulled out in
November in protest against the US-led assault on the insurgent stronghold of
Fallujah authorized by Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
DELAY
PREFERRED
Hamid said that he would reconsider participation only if the
government postpones the elections for another six months. Such a delay will
help promote the unity of Iraqi people, he said.
"God's willing, the security
situation would change if the elections are postponed for six months when people
can understand more about the elections, and discover who are behind the scene
trying to destabilize the country."
Iraqi Sunnis fear that in places like
Baghdad, Mosul and Ramadi where insurgents still hold sway, the election can not
take place as planned. They also fear that lopsided voting would undermine the
credibility of the poll.
"Elections that are not all-inclusive could bring
great tragedies to the Iraqi people and spark disputes. These would prolong the
occupation in Baghdad, which goes against the will of the Iraqi people," he
said.
But he seems realistic about US presence in Iraq, saying the election
date has nothing to do with the withdrawal timetable of the foreign
troops.
However, he insists there be a timetable for the withdrawal, "
whether it takes several months, a year, or even longer."
Spurning the
"ill-prepared" elections, Hamid said he would not recognize the legitimacy of
the national assembly to be elected or any decisions by it, since they can not
fully represent Iraqis' will.
"We will reject anything that contradicts the
interests of Iraqi people and goes against the political process that we
advocate," he said.
CHAMPIONING UNITY AMONG IRAQIS
The Islamic Party's
position echoed that of the Muslim Scholars Association, an influential
religious body in Iraq's Sunni community.
But Hamid said his party is making
independent decisions as they have their own consultative council. "We only need
the cooperation and solidarity of others," he said, adding that his party "has a
brotherly and consultative relation with the Association."
Although the two
groups' objection to the Jan. 30 election have not created a domino effect so
far in Iraq, a Sunni tribal coalition did join the chorus.
The Patriotic
Front for Iraqi Tribes announced Wednesday it would withdraw from the elections
unless it is postponed until security improves.
UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan told journalists Friday that conditions for elections in Iraq were not
ideal, and that Iraqi officials should intensify efforts to make them
all-inclusive.
As quite a few Iraqi Sunnis are expected to boycott the
elections, Shiites, accounting for 60 percent of Iraq's 26 million population,
are predicted to win a landslide victory in the elections.
Referring to the
hyped-up sectarian strife between Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq, Hamid said his
party has good relations and stand united with the Shiite trends in front of
those who want to start a sectarian war in Iraq.
Hamid, head of the country's
biggest Islamic party, said: "This conspiracy would surely not stand in the way
of our cooperation and a sectarian war is out of the question."
"We are
always in touch with some of the Shiite parties and individuals to exchange
opinions about the future of Iraq. We are calling for the national unity in the
highest pitch," he said.
Xinhua News
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