Iraqis voting in UAE to increase

Abu Dhabi: The number of Iraqis in the UAE participating in the general elections to elect representatives of the National Assembly will increase by 35 per cent, according to an Iraqi Embassy official.

Khalid Mohammad Al Barwari, Election coordinator of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq at the Iraqi Embassy, told Gulf News that the UAE will be the voting centre for all Iraqis living in entire GCC.

"Last elections we had about 34,00 voters in Abu Dhabi and about 14,000 in Dubai. A 35 per cent increase is expected this year," he said.

Al Barwari said that the exact number of voters cannot be known now due to the new law for election where voters can register and vote on the same election day.

"The increase in voters' number will be noticeable due to the UAE's role in helping Iraqi voters living in the GCC countries to come and vote in UAE," he added.

"The UAE is facilitating the entrance of Iraqis into the GCC and we are very grateful for the help the UAE is giving us."

Voters can come only once to the election centre to vote, which will make more people participate. While in the last elections voters had to register a month earlier and then come to vote on election day, Al Barwari added.

National list

More than 300 lists of candidates will be on the 4-page "national list" that will be distributed in all the election centres around the world.

"Each voter has to choose one list. It may have one name or 200 names. It is very easy to vote," he added.

Iraqis in Abu Dhabi are optimistic about the elections. They describe it as "a new beginning for Iraq."

Mohammad Khalil, 31, said that the elections are a move towards freedom.

"It's the first time we are electing the National Assembly. It's a step towards independence," he said.

"I think the voting process is going to be easy, but the problem will be with the candidates, being outside Iraq we don't have a lot of information about the candidates and their programmes," he added.

Mo'taz Abdul Razak, a 29-year-old civil engineer, hoped the election will be a new beginning for Iraq. "All Iraqis believe in these elections. The democratic solution is the best one for Iraq," he said.

Siham Al Ali said that participation in the elections is the start of the journey back to Iraq.

"We want a safe Iraq and we want equality among all Iraqis. That's why we came to vote," she said.

Nawfal Samir, 30, hoped that elections will give Iraq a better future.

"I finally felt that me as an Iraqi citizen will be able to select my representatives on my own," he said.

Elections to be held in 15 countries

Elections will be in 15 countries outside Iraq: Jordan, UAE, Turkey, Iran, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Lebanon, USA, Syria, UK, Canada, Germany and Austria.

Elections will be held in a total of 38 cities with 108 election centres and 521 election stations.

Iran is the highest among the countries with regard to the number of cities 8 cities, 15 centres and 81 stations.

The second country after Iran is the US 5 cities (Washington, Detroit, Chicago, San Diego and Nashville), 10 centres and 50 stations.