Personal reflections on the provincial elections in Iraq from Khitam, Iraqi staff member, Baghdad.
From: Khitam, Iraqi staff member, Baghdad
I walked to the polling center which was relatively close to my house on Palestine Street. Since this is not my original area, I took my Iraqi IDs and went with my relatives to vote.
When I got there, they told me that I can't vote, but after a while they sent me to special voting room; where I could register my name with others who couldn't find their names, and I finally voted.
My general observation of this election:
- It was very clear that this time the election process was well organized and the long time preparation was obvious.
- The first thing that was really different is the open list, where people got more space to give their voice to the candidates they trust and would like to represent them.
- Hiring teachers to take the lead in the polling centers gave the polling centers more credibility for voters to participate. In the last election, most the staff were representing specific parties like the Mahdi army, Badr forces, and others, which prevent voters from electing freely.
- There was a monitoring committee of four or five in each voting room; this committee included a mix of people from the same district with different specializations. I noticed a guard, teacher, and engineer in the same committee.
- Though many people participated in elections, unfortunately, many did not. The main reason is they did not have real ideas about the candidates.
- Young people have a great essential part in this process. IHEC hired young people to do security searches, as back-up for the Iraqi police. They also were helping direct people to the right room to vote. IHEC also hired elderly women and widows to do the female searching."
