Power Line: Iraqis Eager to Vote

January 25, 2005

Iraqis Eager to Vote

Haider Ajina passes along a translation of an article in the Arabic newspaper Alsharq Alausat, with the results of a poll conducted by the Iraqi Ministry of Planning:

72.4 % of all of those polled said they would participate in the elections. [Ed.: If so, Iraqi voting will vastly outstrip participation here in the U.S., where 56% of eligible voters contributed to a record turnout in 2004.]
97% of Iraqis in Kurdistan said they would participate in the elections.

96% of Iraqis in the southern provinces (mainly Shiite areas) said they would participate in the elections.

33% of Iraqis in the central provinces (Sunni Area) said they would participate in the elections.

10% of Iraqis in Central provinces (Sunni Area) said they have not yet made their mind if they were going to vote or not.

62.1% of those polled said that the elections will be neutral and free.

17.8% said elections will not be neutral and free.

66% said that the elections must take place under current circumstances.

53.3% said the security is good in their area..

21.7% said that security was average in their area.

25% said that security was bad in their area.

Interesting: 75% of Iraqis say security where they live is either "good" or "average." Not exactly the impression you would get from the American press.

My own prediction, for what it's worth, is that we'll see a stunning turnout of Iraqis next week, easily surpassing our own electoral participation and dealing a decisive rebuke to the anti-democratic forces of Islamic terrorism.

Posted by John at 11:33 PM |

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