Baghdad: Iraqis in two Sunni-dominated provinces where provincial elections had been delayed over security concerns were casting ballots Thursday amid tight security measures aimed at thwarting insurgent attacks. Iraq has been the scene of a dramatic rise in sectarian tensions and deteriorating security.
The two provinces - Anbar and Ninevah - have seen some of the largest rallies in a months-long wave of Sunni protests against the Shiite-led government. A vehicle ban was implemented in Mosul, Ramadi and other major cities in the two provinces as voting got under way for candidates who will serve on provincial-level councils. Thousands of policemen and soldiers were deployed to secure the vote.
Iraqis voted in 12 of Iraq’s 18 provinces two months ago. Officials had delayed elections in Anbar and Ninevah because of what they said were security concerns, though some Iraqis questioned that rationale and dismissed it as a political ploy related to the unrest in the provinces. Some 2.8 million Iraqis are eligible to vote in more than 1,200 polling centers in the two provinces. That figure includes nearly 100,000 members of the security forces, many of whom voted in special elections on Monday so they could be on hand to secure the balloting.
Hundreds of candidates from 28 political blocs in Ninevah and 16 in Anbar are hoping to secure seats. There are 39 seats up for grabs in Ninevah and 30 in Anbar. Among the groups hoping for a strong showing are Sunni parliament speaker Osama Al Nujaifi’s United bloc, Deputy Prime Minister Saleh Al Mutlaq’s Arab Iraqiya coalition and the secular but Sunni-dominated Iraqiya bloc headed by Shiite politician Ayad Allawi.
The provincial councils have some say over regional security matters and have the ability to negotiate local business deals and allocate government funds. But provincial council members frequently complain that they are hamstrung by restrictions from federal authorities over how to spend the money.
The councils also choose provincial governors and have the right under Iraq’s constitution to call for a referendum to organize into a federal region - a move that could give them considerable autonomy from the central government in Baghdad.
Some protesters and political leaders in Sunni areas, including Anbar and Ninevah, have been agitating for the creation of an autonomous Sunni region, though it is unclear if they could generate broad support for such a move.
No major violence was reported Thursday morning.
But police and hospital officials said seven people were killed and 24 were wounded when two bombs exploded simultaneously on a football field the previous night while teenagers and young adults were playing.
Iraq’s largely autonomous northern Kurdish region, which comprises three provinces, will hold its own local elections in September. No vote is scheduled in the ethnically disputed province of Kirkuk, which has not had a chance to elect local officials since 2005 because residents cannot agree on a power-sharing formula there.
Results from Thursday’s vote are not expected for several days.
