Iraqi refugees in Syria cast their votes in this week's Iraqi elections despite concerns over the outcome, writes Bassel Oudat in Damascus The Iraqi elections took place in Syria without incident this week, and the three days allotted for the balloting gave voters plenty of time to have their say. Voting stations were located everywhere in Syria, especially in areas where there is a high concentration of Iraqi refugees, including Al-Sayeda Zainab and Garmana near Damascus, which is itself home to hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees. From the early hours of the morning onwards, Iraqi refugees headed to polling stations to cast their ballots. Although the number of voters is unknown, they were not as few as some had anticipated, although the Iraqis are wary of this election and its outcome. On election days, people with purple fingertips were a common sight around Damascus, a mark that they had cast their vote in the elections. In fact, it was the first time that Iraqis were distinguishable by sight from their Syrian hosts. After years of suffering the hardships of making a living in a foreign land, discussions among Iraqi refugees in Damascus returned to issues of politics, security and the economy of their homeland. Their sectarian allegiances also sometimes resurfaced, and they freely expressed their support for different candidates without fear, since these are people living beyond the Iraqi borders, safe from being persecuted for their political opinions. Despite rumours of widespread corruption in the run-up to the elections, none of the Iraqi voters in Al-Sayeda Zainab admitted to receiving money to cast their vote. "We have heard that some candidates have been paying voters to support them, but we have not seen this happen," one Iraqi youth named Salem Al-Hajji told Al-Ahram Weekly. "We know many poor Iraqis who were looking for someome to pay for their vote, but they came home empty-handed." The role of money in the current Iraqi elections has been a hot topic of discussion in Iraqi circles, with concerns being raised about the large sums being spent by some candidates, reaching as much as $250 million in some cases. However, it appears that the ten seats allocated for the Iraqi refugees were not attractive enough for those spending such sums to interest themselves in paying voters. Theoretically, Syria, as the host country, remained neutral in the elections and did not interfere in the electoral process, which is considered an internal Iraqi matter. This was the story recounted in all the official Syrian newspapers, but Syria's official and semi-official television channels also focused on some of the negative aspects of the elections. The channels interviewed Iraqis who said that there had been violations of the regulations governing the balloting during the elections, as well as scenes of disorder. They also interviewed Iraqi politicians close to Syria, who repeated the same accusations. However, it is noteworthy that the Syrian authorities permitted all the candidates in the elections to campaign freely in Syria, putting up election posters for candidates who are close to the Syrian regime as well for those who among its worst enemies. "This is an example of Syria's democratic model, which the West should emulate," Syrian deputy foreign minister Faisal Al-Moqdad said. "Anyone who walks through our streets will find posters for various Iraqi candidates, even for those with whom we differ." For his part, Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad voiced the official Syrian position on the elections, saying that he hoped that they would be a segue, or transition, towards achieving security and stability in Iraq, as well as to Iraq's achieving good relations with its neighbours. Complaints by Iraqis in Syria were limited in nature and were mostly related to difficulties proving their nationality. Every Iraqi was asked to present a nationality document or Iraqi ID along with his or her passport, many voters complaining that these documents were not necessarily close at hand. "One female voter came to cast her ballot and only had a rental contract for her home," according to the director of the Hajira polling station. There were, however, criticisms of the number of seats reserved for the refugees, as well as of other issues. "The Iraqi government is treating the Iraqi refugees unfairly by only offering them 10 parliamentary seats," argued Iraqi academic Hamid Zaher. "This is less than three per cent of the seats, when Iraqis abroad are estimated to amount to 10 per cent of the population." Zaher added that electoral violations had taken place well before election day, but not during the balloting itself. According to the Damascus-based Iraqi writer and political analyst Fadel Al-Rabiei, the elections were a "farce," and he warned about the political conditions that in his view would follow. "Even if the different blocs are able to win seats, it is very likely that they will be too weak to form a government single-handedly," Al-Rabiei told the Weekly. "This represents another political quandary, and it could take seven months until a new government is formed, because the new parliament and rising blocs will battle over forming it. Since they are all almost equal in size, marathon negotiations, political compromises and deals will begin. Meanwhile, the US will withdraw from Iraq, and, if there is no comprehensive national solution in place, Iraq will disintegrate into civil war." After three days of non-stop conversation among the refugees about political conditions in Iraq, parliamentary blocs and tales of the 6,218 candidates during the election period, Iraqis in Damascus have now returned to their daily lives. Many seem to be anticipating that they will continue to live in Syria and will not be returning to their homeland.
