The ballot box is taking over from the gun as a way of winning arguments in Iraq

Middle East Minister Bill Rammell examines the Iraqi elections which, he says, mark another milestone in Iraq’s development as a democracy, as over 14 million Iraqis go to the polls to select new provincial councils across the country. Elections are becoming a firm fixture in the Iraqi political calendar. But there is something different: this time the process has been totally Iraqi-led. The legislation is Iraqi, it is the Iraqi Higher Election Commission that has been working hard for nearly 18 months to put in place the processes and mechanism to ensure the Elections are free and fair, and it is the Iraqi Security Forces that have put in place a comprehensive countrywide security plan for the elections. Democracy has taken root in Iraq and is flourishing. The ballot box is taking over from the gun as a way of winning arguments in Iraq