Sama Hadad of the Iraqi Prospect Organisation explains why delaying the elections would be wrong

November 29, 2004

Pachachi, who returned from a five-month stay at his Emirates
residence, convened a meeting with Sunni and Kurdish politicians in
Baghdad, culminating with a joint statement calling for a six-month
delay of the January elections, citing security concerns. However,
these concerns are either disingenuous or flawed:

• Just two days prior, the core Sunni parties had demanded that either
elections be delayed due to security concerns, or the electoral system
is changed from a single-constituency proportional representation
system to that of a first-past-the-post multi-constituency system.
What if any links an electoral system has to the security concerns is
bewildering, but what it reveals is the true motives behind the call
for an elections delay. In a single-constituency proportional
representation system there are virtually no wasted votes and each
list receives the same percentage of seats as votes, while a
multi-constituency first-past-the-post system invariably produces
wasted votes and unfairly skews results - which they hope to benefit
from. If elections are delayed, it is only logical that terrorists
will be emboldened and will drive even harder to ensure they succeed
once again in stalling the democratic process and thus the security
situation will only get worse and not better.

• A delay in elections will not bring in those boycotting the
democratic process. Such groups have clearly stated they will not take
part in any elections whilst foreign troops are in Iraq and troop
presence will not change in six months.

Such a move, most likely stirred up by neighbouring Arab nations
fearful of a budding democracy in their midst, is not gaining any
ground as 42 Shia parties, Sistani, the electoral commission,
President Bush, Negroponte and Senator Lugar have all dismissed any
delay.

The Iraqi Prospect Organisation is a network of young Iraqi men and
women promoting democratic values in Iraq. http://www.iprospect.org.uk