The following letter appears in the Guardian.
As a London-based Iraqi currently visiting family and friends all over Iraq, I cannot help but notice the sense of hope surging through this devastated country. The Iraqi people have been summoned to the ballot three times within one year and on all three occasions have responded in their masses, all eager to have a say in the new democratic Iraq. It’s a shame, therefore, that despite the optimism within Iraq, the western media continues to portray the situation in Iraq in a negative light – particularly the recent elections.
We should not forget that the concept of democracy is new to the people of Iraq, who have had to endure more than two decades of brutal dictatorship. So the fact many voted on sectarian lines is hardly surprising, nor was it unexpected. The allegations of fraud have also been overblown. The UN representative in Iraq has described the elections as one of the most transparent to be held in the Middle East. Even with the votes under scrutiny for fraud, the final results will remain unaffected.
After three defeats at the ballot box, the Sunnis must now realise that the era when the minority ruled over the majority has passed. That the United Iraqi Alliance, the clear victor of this election, is already beginning negotiations to form a government of national unity that will include Arab Sunnis, Kurds and Turkoman is another positive sign: in the new democratic Iraq, all will share in the building of a bright future.
With every vote cast, Iraqis continue to defy the terrorists who fear a democratic Iraq. Try as they might, the terrorists will not win over the resilience of the Iraqi people as a whole.
Ahmed Alaskary
London