Kuwait Times

Published Date: March 08, 2010

FALLUJAH: Khaled Abdallah dropped his ballot into the box in defiance of Al-Qaeda, whose threat to kill any voter in Iraq's election yesterday was largely ignored in the Sunni Arab bastion of Fallujah. Amid the echo of blasts from around the former rebel stronghold in the desert of western Iraq, a cry of "vote against Al-Qaeda!" rang out from Kamal Fawaz, a first-time voter at a polling station in Al-Amine school. Formerly in the grips of Osama bin Laden followers in Iraq and other insurgents, Fallujah was
the scene of two fierce battles against the American military in 2004. The war for Fallujah was fought a year after the US-led invasion which toppled Iraq's long-time Sunni president, Saddam Hussein.

But many local residents, weary of the bloodshed and destruction, turned out for Iraq's second post-Saddam parliamentary election, in contrast to a Sunni boycott at the last such poll in 2005. Only 3,500 people voted five years ago, less than one percent of the electorate in Anbar province of which the city of Fallujah forms a part. "They terrorized us for many years. Now, we must drive them out because they are doing wrong to the country," said Kamal, referring to Al-Qaeda, which on Friday threatened vote
rs with their lives.

After a timid start, the pace picked up, with local dignitaries and clerics encouraging voters not to repeat the boycott which only served to boost the dominance in parliament of Iraq's majority Shiites and their Kurdish allies. Women in the "niqab" full-face veil, accompanied by their husbands, sought out their names on the registers, avoiding the glances of other men and the cameras of journalists. Outside, hundreds of police and soldiers patrolled the streets, where motorists were banned amid fears of c
ar bombings.

They're like rats. They open fire and then just vanish into the air. Let them come and confront us face to face," said Khaled Abdallah, 35, who like voters all around Iraq had to undergo a search before casting his ballot. His father, 70-year-old Sheikh Majed, said the days of Fallujah's subservience to the rebels and the US military were numbered. "Those terrorists want to intimidate us but we mustn't let it get to us. We managed to resist the Americans and it's not a handful of people who are going to d
eviate us from our course today," he said.

The two men said they voted for the Iraq Unity list of Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani, who is in alliance with Arab tribal chiefs who have turned against Al-Qaeda. "Our goal today is give back the Sunnis their place in parliament and to restore a balance in the government," said Sheikh Majed. Storekeeper Hamed Hilal, 25, openly said he voted for the Allawi camp, referring to Shiite former premier Iyad Allawi whose Iraqiya list includes several Sunni parties.

All my family voted for his representative in Anbar," said a doctor, Rafaa Al-Issawi. "He's a man who can be trusted and who can serve the interests of the Sunnis." Like in other Sunni regions of Iraq, a nostalgia for the Saddam era bubbled not far under the surface, almost a full seven years after the now-executed dictator was overthrown. Iraq "needs a Saddam," swore Battal Salman, 55. "I voted but I don't really believe in these new leaders ... The Sunnis are going to work with the Shiites but it's them
who now control the wheels of power." - AFP