More election euphoria. posted by Richard Seymour

The Iraqi blogger Raed is unhappy about the elections. He points out that:

1) "The fake government in Iraq announced that 72% of Iraqis voted today. Later they announced that 8 million Iraqis voted, which means that around 56% voted because the number of Eligible voters inside Iraq is more than 14.27 million."

2) "There is NO WAY that the primitive weak Iraqi government could know how many people went to vote today this fast, and these numbers are mere exaggerated guesses.

Yet, they are stupid enough to miscalculate numbers.

The number of Iraqis outside is more than 4,000,000. 56% of Iraqis are older than 18 years, which means that around 2.5 million Iraqis are Eligible voters outside Iraq. Less than 250,000 of them voted.

The surprise is that by a simple calculation, the total number of Iraqi Eligible voters inside and outside the country is more than 16.75 millions, and the number of people that actually voted is less than 8.25 million."

Less than 50% of all eligible voters actually voted. Success, success!! Keep repeating.

Another thing that bears mentioning is that the low turnout is blamed on 'insurgent violence'. Well, that has to be part of it, but how to explain the low ex-pat turnout, where there was considerably less danger?



Oddly, an organisation calling itself the International Organization of Migration claims that 94% of ex-pats voted , which would be pretty bloody difficult since only 25% of them registered.

Rumours were apparently percolating among Iraqis that if they didn't vote, they would have their food rations cut off. Or so report Raed and Baghdad Burning . Dahr Jamail reports:

Many Iraqis said Monday that their names were marked on a list provided by the government agency that provides monthly food rations before they were allowed to vote.

”I went to the voting centre and gave my name and district where I lived to a man,” said Wassif Hamsa, a 32-year-old journalist who lives in the predominantly Shia area Janila in Baghdad. ”This man then sent me to the person who distributed my monthly food ration.”

Mohammed Ra'ad, an engineering student who lives in the Baya'a district of the capital city reported a similar experience.

Ra'ad, 23, said he saw the man who distributed monthly food rations in his district at his polling station. ”The food dealer, who I know personally of course, took my name and those of my family who were voting,” he said. ”Only then did I get my ballot and was allowed to vote.”

”Two of the food dealers I know told me personally that our food rations would be withheld if we did not vote,” said Saeed Jodhet, a 21-year-old engineering student who voted in the Hay al-Jihad district of Baghdad.

Meanwhile, Salim Lone - former advisor to Sergio Vieira de Mello - argues that "the election fell so completely short of accepted electoral standards that had it been held in, say, Zimbabwe or Syria, Britain and America would have been the first to denounce it." Success! Glory to the civilising mission.

Election "irregularities" are already emerging.

But wait: "I can see the markets rising like a beautiful bird!"

Finally, Fisherblog reproduces the view of the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq, urging workers not to participate in the elections. It is interesting for the reasons they give. I reiterate my own view that the decision to participate is a judgement call for Iraqis, to do with their own assessment of risks and potential benefits, but this is still an interesting take - not least because some accuse the antiwar Left of being uninterested in the views of Iraqi socialists.