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Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Iraqi Voter Enthusiasm




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According to unembeded reporter in Iraq Dahr Jamail:
Many Iraqis had expressed fears before the election that their monthly food rations would be cut if they did not vote. They said they had to sign voter registration forms in order to pick up their food supplies.

Their experiences on the day of polling have underscored many of their concerns about questionable methods used by the U.S.-backed Iraqi interim government to increase voter turnout.

Just days before the election, 52 year-old Amin Hajar who owns an auto garage in central Baghdad had said: ”I'll vote because I can't afford to have my food ration cut...if that happened, me and my family would starve to death.”
So maybe they weren't ecstatic at the thundering onslaught of democracy, maybe they were just hungry?

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