Word: turnout
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...Moreover, the entire argument about Sunni participation is empty. Yes, the legitimacy of the election would be in question if the government had denied Sunnis the right to vote. But low Sunni turnout was hardly the work of the Iraqi government. To the contrary: the coalition authority and provisional Iraqi government did everything they could to allow and encourage Sunni participation. U.S. and Iraqi soldiers died to protect poll workers and voters in extremely dangerous places. Americans are being told that they must now reach out to Europe and bridge the transatlantic gap created by the Iraq...
...that an American diplomat had come to the Continent accompanied by good news out of Iraq. As the newly minted Secretary of State began a weeklong tour of eight European countries plus Israel and the West Bank, she was relieved that the Iraqi election had seen an unexpectedly high turnout and relatively low violence. Rice also brought with her a reassuring message: "President Bush has emphasized his desire to reinvigorate our relations across Europe," she said at the British Foreign Office in London, "to take our partnership to a new level of support and engagement." Those words have been heard...
...Iraqi election of a 275-member National Assembly was neither a bloodbath nor a farce: It was widely participated in and is about as legitimate an election as one can expect in a country that was, until recently, a brutal totalitarian dictatorship. The turnout, which was expected by many pessimists to come in under 30 percent, was ultimately comparable to the turnout in our most recent election. That so many of these recently suppressed citizens flocked to the polls with such enthusiasm is a powerful reminder of the value of the elective franchise...
However, though the election did not fall prey to forecasts of doom, there are certainly issues that must be addressed. The troublingly low turnout of Sunni voters, estimated to be as little as 20 percent of those eligible, stands out as a main blemish on an otherwise admirable effort on the part of the Iraqi government and the United States armed forces. It is not yet known with any certainty exactly why Sunni turnout was so low; while many voters might have stayed away in protest, it seems likely that were kept away because of poll closings, inadequate ballots...
...stands, the only certainty is that the low Sunni turnout is not necessarily indicative of their unwillingness to cooperate in a democratic system. While some Sunni groups have voiced adamant resistance to representation within the new democratic government, there are no clear signs that the group as a whole rejects the idea of working with the Shiite majority or with the Kurds. What is known to all observers is simply that it is of the utmost importance that Sunnis are included in any new government that wants to have a chance of success. Gross under representation within the new parliament...