WASHINGTON, 7 January 2005 — As the Iraqi election deadline of Jan. 30 nears, two experts from American organizations assisting Iraqis discussed the ongoing process there.
Kenneth Wollack, president of the National Democratic Institute, and Judy Van Rest, executive vice president of the International Republican Institute, fielded journalists questions Monday at the Washington-based Foreign Press Center.
Explaining their role, they said both organizations “do very little to promote democracy, but rather, support people in countries who are trying to make a transition to more open, pluralistic political systems and try to assist political leaders and civic leaders around the world who are trying to build democratic institutions.”
Wollack said both organizations work in Iraq “with a broad array of both political parties, and with civic organizations planning to mobilize a nationwide election monitoring effort for the upcoming elections.”
Van Rest said more than 200 political parties have been established in Iraq, which “gives some indication of how active Iraqis are in the political process. There are hundreds of civic organizations across the nation we have been working with to help conduct activities for this election, such as voter education, civic education, and ‘get out the vote’ type of activities.”
Some journalists expressed their skepticism, noting the international community is not running the Iraqi election and thousands of US troops are still occupying Iraq. “It seems the date has been set from outside or from a government that hasn’t been elected by the Iraqis,” said one correspondent.
Van Rest said their two agencies are not the only ones working on the elections but assisting Iraqis on voter education. “We are there to provide technical assistance and training.”
Regarding the feasibility of the elections, Van Rest said the last public opinion poll they conducted in early December, indicated that “70 percent of the Iraqi population believed that the elections will actually happen.”
Wollack admitted the election will be “a difficult process.”
“I’m not a prophet,” said Wollack. “I can’t tell you what is going to happen at the end of the day, but it is certain that many Iraqis, including those in the Sunni community, do want to participate.
“With the lifting of the dictatorship in Iraq, what you have in Iraq, as you’ve had every other place in the world that is beginning a transition, is a proliferation of political parties and a proliferation of civic organizations,” said Wollack. “It takes a period of settling out. People have to begin to know each other.”
