Iraq's media in lively election
mode By Kathleen Ridolfo
News
of Iraq's January elections has dominated the pages of
the country's major dailies in recent weeks, to some
extent crowding out the more detailed coverage of the
growing insurgency, the presence of multinational
forces, and even the workings of the interim
administration.
Newspapers in Iraq have been
offering up a barrage of daily reports and opinion
pieces over the past month on a variety of
election-related subjects. Politicians and religious
leaders "in the know" have commented on election
developments, as the official Electoral Commission has
detailed information on the mechanisms established to
become a candidate and on voting. Articles have appeared
on voter-education seminars being offered by political
parties and organizations, the likelihood of whether or
not expatriates will be allowed to vote from abroad,
whether Sunnis will participate in the elections, as
well as political maneuverings as the parties work to
forge alliances and place their candidates on election
lists that will meet the stringent requirements
established by the commission.
But perhaps the
most salient barometer of the "mood" in Iraq can be
found on the editorial pages of Iraq's dailies.
Commentaries overwhelmingly support the elections and
offer intelligent and well-constructed viewpoints on a
variety of election-related topics. Writers regularly
demand that the Electoral Commission provide more
information on the election process, and call on the
Iraqi people to cast their ballots on election day.The
diversity of opinions to be found on the pages of
political dailies is encouraging and demonstrates a
strong desire by Iraqis to make the nation's first
elections as democratic as possible.
Writers
publishing in a variety of newspapers supporting
divergent political positions appear to agree on one
fact: elections should not be derailed by terrorism and
instability. Most contributors have stressed the
necessity of holding nationwide polls. But some writers
support the idea that partial elections in stable areas
would be better than no elections. "Attaining half or
three-quarters of legitimacy, so to speak, is better
than no legitimacy at all in order to respond to the
doubters and silence the loud voices that keep accusing
the government of treason and illegitimacy. They act as
if the whole Arab world enjoys legitimacy and as if Iraq
is the only exception in the region that has no
legitimacy in the middle of [an] ocean of Arab
legitimacy," Latif al-Subayhawi wrote in the October 18
edition of Al-Dustour.
Abd-al-Husayn Salman
commented on the issue of terrorism and elections in an
October 13 commentary in Al-Adalah, published by the
Shi'ite group the Supreme Council for the Islamic
Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). "The question that begs an
answer is the following: Will the enemies of [a] new
Iraq succeed in their scheme? The biggest blow that can
be dealt to these is when the Iraqis are able to go to
the ballot boxes with peace of mind to cast their votes
for the first time in their lives freely, voluntarily,
and without fear to choose their representatives in the
future National Assembly."
Commentaries have
also noted the lack of independent candidates, with many
writers fearing that the parties now in power will
remain in power after the elections. The independent
"moderate" trend inside the country remains
unrepresented, they argue. Ali al-Basri wrote in the
October 18 edition of Al-Mashriq, "In my humble opinion,
I feel that the next elections will not solve the
problem of security and stability. Although,
theoretically, the elections are held in Iraq, the
results will practically be 'American', so to speak.
That is to say, the United States, under any
circumstances, will not allow any party or trend
opposing its policies in Iraq to win. The United States
will adopt offense as the best way for defense. So it
will overwhelm the scene with lists of picked names
seemingly clean and decent, and not considered US
agents. Surely these names and parties have already
penetrated the Iraqi scene."
Commentaries also
debate the formation of political alliances in
preparation for the elections. "It is the right of every
party to strike an alliance with any other party
regardless of the beliefs, ideologies, and political
course that each follows. Politics do not necessitate
identity of visions and similarity of political
discourse. What is important is agreement in their view
of the situation in terms of what has existed and what
must exist," Hamid Abdullah wrote in the October 19
edition of Al-Mashriq. "We have said 'goodbye' to
ideological rigidity."
The dark reality of
Iraq's political landscape is also addressed. Critics
argue that although the leadership has changed, politics
remain dominated by corruption and cronyism. "This
corruption that has beset society as a result of what
the Iraqi people have experienced makes us worry about
the elections, that is, if we assume for the sake of the
argument that they would be democratic elections. Our
concern is that the Iraqis will not make the right
choices. The first thing that the Iraqis would be asking
themselves during the elections is 'to whom do I owe
allegiance now?'" wrote Ibrahim Mahmud in the September
23 edition of Al-Jarida. "These elections will install
persons who are not qualified to lead Iraq, that is, if
these elections are held in a democratic fashion. The
government that will be installed by these elections
will be like the transitional Governing Council. And
like the interim government, it will be filled with the
henchmen and cronies of the former regime who still have
all the means and the financial resources that will play
an important role in the elections," Mahmud argued.
Iraqis can consider themselves fortunate in that
diverse media representing nearly every political trend
developed very quickly in the months after the fall of
Saddam Hussein's regime. To be sure, the media in Iraq
have their own set of problems and are far from meeting
Western journalistic standards. But the diversity of
opinions to be found on the pages of political dailies
is encouraging indeed.
Copyright 2004 RFE/RL
Inc. Reprinted with the permission ofRadio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW,
Washington, DC 20036.
