The most remarkable thing was that the insurgents not only did not try to disrupt the elections, in parts of Iraq they even posted guards at polling stations. The Guardian, among other sources, reported on this:
In Ramadi, a centre of armed resistance to the US occupation, masked gunmen guarded polling stations in Ramadi. "The mujahedin were at the polling station urging us not to let our voice be split. They urged us to go for either of the two Sunni lists, the Consensus Front or Saleh al-Mutlaq," said Ali Abed al-Dulaimi, a retired car salesman, in a telephone interview. Both lists, one Islamist, one secular, claim to have links with the nationalist gunmen.
No doubt there was some intimidation there. There can be little doubt, too, that there were irregularities in the election. But even the insurgents seem to believe that their aims can be served through representation in the newly elected government. And Zarqawi's decision to stand aside and let the vote happen is one more indication that sentiment favoring elections was strong. As if actions were not enough.
Elections alone do not a democracy make, and while the success of this is promising, all three groups of Iraqis--the Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds--must perceive that the government that will be formed can serve their needs adequately. Given the agendas of the Kurds and the Shiites and the strength they will probably have when the new government is formed, this perception may be difficult to achieve. Moreover, the insurgency, with its irreconcilable, Zarqawi-led kernel, and the need--ever paramount--for all in Iraq to feel secure will create their own difficulties for the new government and the United States.
Fortunately, the elections left those inclined toward peace stronger.
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