Voter turnout for Iraq’s largely peaceful January 31 provincial elections was around 50 percent.

02 February 2009

(Largely peaceful polling was managed and secured by Iraqi authorities)

Washington — Iraq’s mostly peaceful provincial elections, held January 31, are an important step forward for the nation and its people, President Obama said.

“Millions of Iraqi citizens from every ethnic and religious group went peacefully to the polls across the country to choose new provincial councils,” he said in a statement January 31. Voting was predominantly managed and organized by the Iraqi government and secured by its police and military forces with assistance from the U.N. Assistance Mission to Iraq.

“This important step forward should continue the process of Iraqis taking responsibility for their future,” Obama said.

Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission “performed professionally under difficult circumstances,” he said, adding that the United States is proud to have provided technical assistance, along with the United Nations and other international organizations.

As a next step, “it is important that the councils get seated, select new governors, and begin work on behalf of the Iraqi people who elected them,” Obama said.

State Department acting spokesman Robert Wood said turnout was around 50 percent — similar to voter participation in other democracies — and many women cast ballots. Speaking to reporters February 2, he said the vote was extremely peaceful compared to previous Iraqi elections and was a proud moment for the country.

“These are people who have braved very difficult conditions to try to get to … the polls, not just now but, of course, in the past. And so it's really a credit to the Iraqi people and their willingness to endure difficult times and to come and vote,” Wood said.

General David Petraeus, the commander of the U.S. Central Command overseeing U.S. forces in Iraq, confirmed there were very few incidents in an election that was held at more than 6,000 polling stations and included tens of thousands of candidates, some of them female.

“It almost brought tears to my eyes,” Petraeus told the Fox News television network February 2. “I think for those who have really been so invested in what took place over there … to see the Iraqis exercise their right to vote, to see them performing the security tasks — it was a pretty special moment.”

He praised the Iraqis for what he described as “an extraordinary accomplishment.”

“It's awful special to be their partners, as over recent years in particular they have stepped up to the plate more and more, taking charge of more of the security functions. And you saw the results,” Petraeus said.