Relative Calm Prevails as Iraqis Vote in Provincial Elections
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ALI AL-SAADI/AFP/Getty Images(BAGHDAD) — The wave of violence that was expected in Iraq on Saturday as people went to vote in provincial elections didn’t materialize.
In fact, reports of attacks were few and far between in the country, with a relatively few fatalities reported — a far cry from the run-up to the election when more than 100 Iraqis died in al Qaeda-led bombings and other assaults.
Fourteen of those killed were candidates for office, mostly Sunnis and Kurds.
Security was tight around polling places. Afterwards, ballot boxes and tallies were sent to Baghdad where results are expected within the next few days.
Iraqis were voting for candidates to assume seats on councils for the purpose of naming governors who will help organize the reconstruction and financial growth of provinces.
This was an important vote for several reasons, not the least of which is that it will help determine support for current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki when parliamentary elections are held in 2014.
It was also the first major vote since U.S. military forces left Iraq at the end of 2011, apparently showing that Iraqi security forces were up to the task of protecting people in democratically-held elections without foreign assistance.
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