Election Day Intimidation in Iraq: A Look at Insurgent Tactics and Voter Disillusion

As Sunday's nationwide elections in Iraq draw near, a determined group of insurgent groups has vowed to disrupt the voting process by any means necessary. Leaflets warning Iraqis to stay away from voting booths, threatening violence and death against those who participate, have been found in neighborhoods across Baghdad. The threat of violence is palpable, with estimates suggesting that even a 50% turnout among the 14 million eligible voters would be a success.

Key Takeaways:

• Insurgent groups, including Ansar al-Sunna and the Islamic Army of Iraq, have vowed to step up attacks to disrupt the voting process.
• Threatening leaflets have been distributed in neighborhoods across Baghdad, warning Iraqis to stay away from voting booths and threatening violence and death against those who participate.
• Iraqi officials estimate that even a 50% turnout among the 14 million eligible voters would be a success.
• The threat of violence is palpable, with some Iraqis expressing fear for their safety despite disapproving of the insurgent tactics.
• A group of guerrillas opened fire on Iraqi police officers on Madaris Street, killing two and wounding three, after the police spotted a black sedan carrying insurgents.
• Schools will serve as polling sites across the country, including a school on Madaris Street where a bomb exploded on Tuesday.
• American soldiers found and defused a bomb near a primary school in western Baghdad, highlighting the security concerns leading up to the election.
• An American hostage, Roy Hallums, appeared on a videotape appealing for help, claiming he was arrested by a resistance group in Iraq.

Statistics:

• 14 million Iraqis are eligible to vote in Sunday's nationwide elections.
• Iraqi officials estimate that even a 50% turnout would be a success.
• 11 Iraqi police officers were killed and 9 wounded in fighting around Baghdad on Tuesday.
• 2 of the men in the black sedan were killed by Iraqi police officers on Madaris Street.
• 3 Iraqi police officers were wounded in the same incident.
• 21 people, including 18 Americans, were killed in a suicide bombing last month in Mosul.
• 69 others were wounded in the same bombing.
• 6 American soldiers were killed Monday in separate incidents in and around Baghdad.
• 5 soldiers were killed when a Bradley armored personnel carrier rolled into a canal during a sandstorm.
• Another soldier died from wounds from a roadside bomb.

Sources:

• Residents of Madaris Street, quoted in the New York Times, February 28, 2005
• A spokesman for Iraq's Electoral Commission, quoted in the New York Times, February 28, 2005
• American officials, quoted in the New York Times, February 28, 2005
• A statement from Ansar al-Sunna, posted on the Internet, quoted in the New York Times, February 28, 2005
• A statement from the Islamic Army of Iraq, posted on the Internet, quoted in the New York Times, February 28, 2005
• The Associated Press, February 28, 2005
• Reuters, February 28, 2005