February 25, 2009
Photos by Philip Forgit
Election posters on Leaf Street in Saab Al Bor promote the party of former Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi.
CAMPAIGNING, IRAQI STYLE Like American politics, candidates woo voters with promises, trinkets By Philip Forgit
It’s Thursday night, an evening bustling with activity one might see on a
SAAB AL BOR, Iraq
Friday night in front of the theater at New Town. The Leaf Street market area in Saab al Bor packed with shoppers, pedestrians and cars. Provincial Council elections are two days away, and candidates are making their final push for voters. Campaign posters are plastered everywhere, on taxis, donkey carts, and building sides. Campaign billboards mark every major intersection. An eight-car convoy of trucks and small cars adorned with Iraqi flags and I RAQ I V O I C E S logos of the Islamic Former Rawls Loyalty Party makes Byrd Elementary its way down the School teacher street. An oversized Philip Forgit is loud speaker mountembedded with U.S. troops in Iraq, ed on one truck exhorts the people to filming how the vote for “208,” the war has affected number assigned to the Iraqi people. Third in a series. the party on the ballot. Children chant and wave from the back of another truck, and campaign workers walk alongside the political “circus” talking to shop owners and pedestrians, passing out leaflets for Islamic Loyalty’s candidates. Sheikh Adnan Atallah Ali Al Masari, dressed in the same dapper, olive green suit seen on campaign posters that adorn telephone poles and vacant building sides, gives an impromptu campaign speech promoting his National Movement for Renewal & Prosperity Party, number 266 on the ballot. The marketing concept of “branding” behind “the Solution” is reminiscent of the Obama “campaign for Change.” He talks of being known for fighting terrorism in his area and promoting reconstruction. He talks about how he distributes food to the poor and returning refugees known as “internally displaced persons.” Presumably, they may vote for him. He is relying on his posters, trinkets and word of mouth among his tribe and community to promote himself. Armed with posters, campaign literature, key chains, pens, air fresheners and even tissue boxes, he “presses the flesh,” but with exceptions. Mostly, he will not shake hands. Hand to heart he will greet most, and never shake the hand of a woman. Men he knows will be greeted with the customary kiss in the air on the sides of both cheeks. While Sheikh Adnan campaigns, the U.S. Army is busy with preparations, making the rounds of eight schools that serve as polling stations. A bomb sniffing dog, Misty, searches schools and nearby vacant lots. Operation Repo Man, an effort to remove any abandoned vehicles that could hide bombs, is in its final stages, as an armored personnel carrier
Photos by Philip Forgit
Above, “The Solution” logo for the National Movement for Renewal and Prosperity Party, listed on the ballot as Party 266. At left is Sheikh Adnan Atall Ali Al Masari, a Party 266 candidate who won election to the Provincial Council.
drags by the rusted skeleton of a car. The American commander, Capt. Digati, reviews security plans with the Iraqi Army and Police while his troops drop rolls of barbed wire to cordon off voter lines. Screening booths, also built by the U.S. Army, are set down outside polling stations so that female voters can be searched, in privacy, by female soldiers of the Iraqi Army. The booths and barbed wire will be the only physical American presence at the polls. Iraqis will provide security on election day with Americans watching from a distance. On Election Day, Digati and his platoon maintain watch from rooftops overlooking the polling sites. Cars are banned from the roads for fear of car bombs. There’s a festive quality to the day, with children out of school and playing in the streets. Voters exiting the polls express hope for the future and jubilantly raise ink-stained index fingers that have become a symbol of voting in Iraq. A
steady stream of voters is seen all day but lines are never longer than 30-40 people. Outside the polls, two lines form, one for females and one for males. Once inside voting is integrated. Gensia, a civilian identification card, is presented as proof of identity, and names checked against a voter list. From there, the voters are given a poster-sized ballot. Some 106 parties are listed. Afterward, each voter deposits his or her vote in a plastic container, then dips their index finger in a bottle of indelible ink. At the end of the day, a crowd of men on Leaf Street, talk about the election. A woman fully covered in black except for her face, approaches, stained finger triumphant in the air, intent on sharing her view. “Nothing is better than the election,” she tells them, “but we need from those elected to provide security and provide jobs for our sons. At this moment, I feel happy but at the same time the government has to accomplish this-security and jobs. Inshalla.” In a chorus of affirmation, the men gathered, echo “inshalla” or “God willing.” Sheikh Adnan claims victory saying, “I’m very happy. The election was honest. All of Iraq is happy. I appreciate the voters and I hope I will do something good for them.” Next — Peace through soccer.