"Ittihad Al-Shaab" List: Election Day is an Iraqi Dawn, Despite Violations
A press statement issued by "Ittihad Al-Shaab" (People's Unity) list described the election day on 30th January 2005 as a historic event, when the Iraqi people "defied the forces of terror, violence and crime."
It said: "At last, millions of Iraqis have declared aloud their adherence to democracy, laying the foundations for a unified democratic federal Iraq, and their total rejection of the dictatorial regime, as well as the values and agendas of despotism, bigotry and darkness."
It is for these objectives that the democratic and secular forces, particularly the People’s Union coalition, initiated by the Iraqi Communist Party, have campaigned under extremely difficult conditions. These demands remain. They can only be satisfied by the withdrawal of the George Bush’s coalition army of occupation and the return to international legality and security with UN support.--Statement of the French Communist Party
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The statement pointed out that while holding elections was in itself a big gain, "we were aware that they did not take place in normal, ideal, conditions but rather under weak democratic traditions and electoral consciousness, and suppressing the will of the Iraqi people for long years by various ways and means." In addition, "While some competing political forces and entities resorted to other means, there were also internal and external influences."
"This was reflected, unfortunately, in the election process which witnessed a lot of shortcomings and serious excesses, all over the country. Some lists resorted to various kinds of blatant violations with the aim of obtaining additonal seats in the national assembly, thus inflicting grave harm to this democratic experience and practice."
The statement concluded: "Despite this, the elections remain a big Iraqi event and an Iraqi dawn that is yet to emerge in full. The 30th of January will enter history as a day when the forces of terror and crime were challenged, a day pointing towards a promising future, looking forward to security and stability, and the triumph of the poeple's will, their right to determine their own destiny and build a unified, democratic and federal Iraq."
(editor's note: People's Unity list is a collection of candidates sponsored by the Iraqi Communist Party and other democratic and working class forces in Iraq.)
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For Full and Complete Sovereignty Put an End to the Occupation
The Iraqis who did vote in a poll marked by the occupation and terrorist attacks have expressed their deep aspiration for a normal life in democracy and security, after years of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, of war and murderous violence.
The conditions for peace, for a real democracy and a State of law are for from being met. Nevertheless, by their vote the Iraqis have affirmed their determination to be masters of their own fate. The message they wanted to make heard, far from legitimising foreign military presence, raises more strongly than ever, the demand for a return of sovereignty and an end to occupation, which stirs up the violence and sharpens inter-communal tensions.
The Iraqi people has a right to peace and to democracy. More than ever, it needs solidarity. So many problems remain: employment, the means with which to live, electricity, reconstruction … serious economic and social problems remain unresolved. They will only find a solution with the return of full and complete sovereignty and with the setting up of a democratic, federal and united State.
It is for these objectives that the democratic and secular forces, particularly the People’s Union coalition, initiated by the Iraqi Communist Party, have campaigned under extremely difficult conditions. These demands remain. They can only be satisfied by the withdrawal of the George Bush’s coalition army of occupation and the return to international legality and security with UN support. This is one of the major issues of our time.
It is essential that a political resolution be found to this tragic period of the American war and of the Iraqi crisis, for the benefit of all Iraqis and all the peoples of the region. Iraq and the Middle East need peace, independence, development and freedom, whereas serious and explicit threats from the Bush Administration are hanging over Iran and Syria. It is along these lines that all those who opposed the war and the America’s imperialist aims must act — in solidarity with the Iraqi people in its demands for democracy and sovereignty.
--Statement by Daniel Cirera of the International Department of the French Communit Party, 31 January 2005.
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