Iraq: 2005 Election Redux

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Contrary to popular belief, Sunnis did participate in the December 2005 parliamentary elections. This false notion has been kept alive by comments from Iraq's top U.S. officer today and faulty press reporting.

DoD News Briefing with Lt. Gen. Odierno from Iraq
January 17, 2008

But number one for me is provincial powers leading then to the laws they need in order to conduct provincial elections because many people -- although we had a great turnout in 2005, Sunnis didn't vote and some Shi'a groups didn't vote.

Interview: Gen. Odierno with Fox News, Oct. 13 2008

Well, I think so.  I mean, the Iraqis are, are really thrilled with elections.  We're going to have this is a big year.  2009 is a big year.  They're going to have provincial elections in January of 2009, followed at the end of 2009 by national elections.  And I think this will be important.  The second set of elections actually are more important than the first because it proves that they're serious about having elected officials run their government. 

Interview: Gen. Odierno with John Hendren from ABC News, Oct. 10 2008

I would just say what’s encouraging is the fact they are using the political process. These are very difficult issues. The fact that they have passed the provincial election law—the election probably will occur on the 31st of January. That’s an extremely positive step. So although we would have liked to have had it in 2008, it’s very early in 2009. It will allow the people to elect those that are representative of them which was not always the case after the 2005 elections. We believe everybody will participate. We believe that, in itself, will improve the stability over time.

Sunnis did in fact vote although participating in an election did not "improve the stability over time." Former Multinational Forces - Iraq Commander General George Casey, the commanding officer later relieved by General Petraeus, was very positive over Sunni participation in the December 2005 parliamentary elections.

Sunni Turnout Substantial in Iraq Voting, Casey Says
Dec. 15, 2005

Sunni voter turnout in today's Iraqi election appeared much greater than it was during the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum, the top U.S. military officer in Iraq said today.

News coverage of long lines of Iraqis waiting to cast their ballots across Iraq today already indicated a higher overall turnout than during the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum, Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., commander of Multinational Force Iraq, said during a live satellite broadcast appearance during today's Pentagon "town hall" meeting.

"We should expect the insurgency not to just go away because there were great elections today," Casey said. However, he expected the insurgency in Iraq to be gradually reduced over time as its root causes are addressed.

Democratic nations in the West were guilty of cultural projection during the lead-up to the December 2005 elections.

Sunnis Will Not Boycott Important Voting Again
August 28th, 2005

It looks like the Sunnis have learnt their lesson from being stubborn seven months ago. They had the chance to participate in the now so heavily debated constitutional draft if they had not decided to boycott the elections in the beginning of this year. This mistake has been costly and they seem to finally realize this and intend not to make the same mistake again.

Iraqis flock to polls as insurgents urge Sunnis to vote

Early estimates suggested more than 70% of the 15 million voters turned out, with participation strong in Sunni areas that have previously shunned the nascent democratic process.

In Ramadi, a centre of armed resistance to the US occupation, masked gunmen guarded polling stations in Ramadi. "The mujahedin were at the polling station urging us not to let our voice be split. They urged us to go for either of the two Sunni lists, the Consensus Front or Saleh al-Mutlaq," said Ali Abed al-Dulaimi, a retired car salesman, in a telephone interview. Both lists, one Islamist, one secular, claim to have links with the nationalist gunmen.

Today, the Iraqi government that formed after the December 2005 election is attempting to ban Saleh al-Mutlaq from the 2010 election due alleged ties to the banned Baath Party of Saddam Hussein. The New York Times was also guilty of propagating the boycott myth as recently as several days ago.

Sunnis largely boycotted the 2005 elections, handing Shiite Muslims and Kurds disproportionate power in the National Assembly. Mr. Mutlaq’s absence from the March 7 vote could prompt another boycott by some Sunnis, this time during a critical period for the American military here as it moves ahead with plans to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq by year’s end.

The final word comes from Robin Wright from December 16, 2005 in the Washington Post.

For President Bush, the strong turnout for Iraq's election yesterday may represent the best day since the fall of Baghdad 32 months ago because all major factions participated in the political process, according to U.S. and Middle East analysts. But the sobering reality, they added, is that the vote by itself did not resolve Iraq's lingering political disputes.