Is Democracy in Iraq Destined for Failure?

Iraqi’s made their return to the polls March 7th in order to choose the next group of members to serve in the Iraqi Parliament. As forecasted, polling stations were marked for violence, as explosives killed 38 people. Nevertheless, millions turned out to receive their purple finger and contribute to their young, fragile state. Big brother nations, such as the United States and Britain, have been quick to shower their brainchild with praise, but others have not been so appreciative. Despite a lack of election results, opposition leaders have been crying foul, citing potential fraud. Preliminary results will not be released until March 10th.

Al Jazeera published an article Sunday surveying this election cycle. They explain that Farag al-Haidary, chairman of the Iraq’s electoral commission, has urged patience as officials continue the vote counting. Al Jazeera’s article also details the violence, foreign support, and voting irregularities related to this round at the polls. Despite mortar attacks, Iraqi leadership remained positive; Prime Minister al-Maliki called the attacks “just noises to scare the Iraqi people from voting.” International support was lead by President Obama, whose fate lies in no small part with the success of the Iraqi government. Concerns of voter fraud are also mentioned, but arrive without a shock as it is not a problem exclusive to Iraq.

While the article grants its readers a broad understanding of the events surrounding this Iraqi election, it also quietly exposes some much larger questions including one rather gaping issue; sustainability. Election fraud is mentioned, but is unfortunately buried at the end of the piece, taking a back seat to some propaganda. Prime Minister al-Maliki is quoted early in the article as saying, “But I know the Iraqi people. They have conviction. When there is a challenge, they persevere, and you will see for yourselves the large number of people that come out to vote.” The Prime Minister’s comments were in response to the reports of violence and fatalities targeting polling stations. In an attempt to sandwich the bloodshed between positive comments, the lead-in speaks to the widespread and diverse involvement this election day.

To soften the blow of reported violence, voter turnout is mentioned to be in the “millions,” serving as a segue for statistics that demonstrate the country’s vast political landscape. This is probably an attempt to boast the political culture of the new Iraq, but a phrase such as “millions of people” is rather ambiguous when speaking on such matters; millions could very well mean 2 million, which would equate to roughly 8% of the population of Iraq. More concerning, however, are the facts that follow, claiming that “more than 6,000 candidates from 86 political groups” are vying for parliamentary positions. With numbers like this it is difficult to believe that a sustainable Iraqi government could be possible in its current state.

The ability to make a well informed decision when faced with a ballot containing more than 6,000 candidates would be inconceivable; a voter would have little choice but seek a method to easily identify candidates which closely embody their interests. Much like most Americans, a majority of Iraqis would be forced to vote based solely on party affiliation, which presents a problem very similar to the first scenario since there are currently 86 parties to choose from.

The 2005 elections resulted in protests over the closed list ballots, a practice which has since been changed, but this political landscape is far from free of the stigma’s that plague faltering governments such as Italy. It is important that the citizenry feel properly represented, but a government’s sustainability can be greatly compromised by a lack of majority leadership and weak party coalitions. Politics like this, in which parties are treated like varieties of pickles rather than ideological alliances that serve as a general platform, are the reason that Italy has had 61 governments in nearly 65 years. If Iraq fails to clean up its act, it could be headed down the same troubled path.

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Read More HERE @ Al Jazeera