Bunglejinx
29-01-2005, 17:10
From the Project on Defense Alternatives (http://www.comw.org/pda/0501br17.html). Conetta has some pretty good points...
The legitimizing effect of the electoral exercise will rest on a simple misperception: Balloting is the most conspicuous element of the democratic process and can be easily mistaken for the whole of it. ... In brief: the election will be a triumph of international legitimation, if not one of democratic practice.
All Iraqis will choose among a startling 98 political entities on the national ballot. These include 9 coalitions, 64 parties, and 25 stand-alone individuals. These will be distinguished on the ballot by a number, symbol, slogan, and the name of either the coalition, party, or individual. All told, there are more than 7,000 candidates for the 275-seat assembly. ... Thus, few Iraqis will be aware of more than a handful of the candidates they are choosing among.
... there has been insufficient time -- one month -- to meaningfully distinguish among the 98 separate lists or "entities" with regard to their programs and ideologies.
The (U.S. favored) expatriate leaders and groups appointed by the United States ... have had 18 months to build name recognition, power bases inside ministries, and networks of influence throughout Iraq. Government leaders also enjoy unparalleled access to the media and can use their positions ... to the benefit of their electoral campaign.
... expatriate organizations received more than $100 million in overt US government support. ... In addition, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has granted $30 million to the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to provide development assistance to what Washington views as moderate parties. ... the $500 million US effort to build civil society organizations and local governance bodies ... has helped create a base of supporters and campaigners for the more secular of the expatriate parties
... voting rights (are being granted) to all Iraqi expatriates living outside the country who can document that they were born in Iraq before 1986. There are perhaps two million expatriates who fit these criteria and at least half of them are expected to vote in (across) 14 countries ... which could easily constitute 8-12 percent of the total. The Interim Government, which is dominated by expatriates, has set aside more than $90 million to support the expatriate vote effort - about 30 percent as much as it will spend on domestic voting
Lots of stuff, but I tried to shorten it up some.
The legitimizing effect of the electoral exercise will rest on a simple misperception: Balloting is the most conspicuous element of the democratic process and can be easily mistaken for the whole of it. ... In brief: the election will be a triumph of international legitimation, if not one of democratic practice.
All Iraqis will choose among a startling 98 political entities on the national ballot. These include 9 coalitions, 64 parties, and 25 stand-alone individuals. These will be distinguished on the ballot by a number, symbol, slogan, and the name of either the coalition, party, or individual. All told, there are more than 7,000 candidates for the 275-seat assembly. ... Thus, few Iraqis will be aware of more than a handful of the candidates they are choosing among.
... there has been insufficient time -- one month -- to meaningfully distinguish among the 98 separate lists or "entities" with regard to their programs and ideologies.
The (U.S. favored) expatriate leaders and groups appointed by the United States ... have had 18 months to build name recognition, power bases inside ministries, and networks of influence throughout Iraq. Government leaders also enjoy unparalleled access to the media and can use their positions ... to the benefit of their electoral campaign.
... expatriate organizations received more than $100 million in overt US government support. ... In addition, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has granted $30 million to the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to provide development assistance to what Washington views as moderate parties. ... the $500 million US effort to build civil society organizations and local governance bodies ... has helped create a base of supporters and campaigners for the more secular of the expatriate parties
... voting rights (are being granted) to all Iraqi expatriates living outside the country who can document that they were born in Iraq before 1986. There are perhaps two million expatriates who fit these criteria and at least half of them are expected to vote in (across) 14 countries ... which could easily constitute 8-12 percent of the total. The Interim Government, which is dominated by expatriates, has set aside more than $90 million to support the expatriate vote effort - about 30 percent as much as it will spend on domestic voting
Lots of stuff, but I tried to shorten it up some.