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RE: [casi] Civic Election in Mosul



 When I saw this, I complained to the BBC Online. It might be a good idea if
a few more people were to do this too.

Chris

-----Original Message-----
From: k hanly
To: casi-discuss
Sent: 05/05/2003 18:59
Subject: [casi] Civic Election in Mosul

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3001263.stm

So a civic election consists of a meeting of two hundred representatives
organised by the US military! It doesn't even say what the process was.
How
were delegates or representatives chosen? Were the candidates even
chosen by
the representatives or were they presented by the military? This is
certainly guided (misguided) civic democracy. Notice the headline that
Mosul
(all 200 of the chosen and with the imprimatur of the US military) holds
a
landmark vote. Surely they had staged elections under Saddam as well.

Cheers, Ken Hanly

Mosul holds landmark vote
Delegates from different ethnic groups in Iraq's third largest city,
Mosul,
have elected an interim authority to run the area until full elections
can
be held.

Some 200 representatives cast their votes for a 24-member council at a
meeting organised by the United States military.

It is the first time an election process has been held in an Iraqi town
or
city since Saddam Hussein was ousted and the Americans say it could be a
model for the rest of the country.

Correspondents say Mosul, which has seen some fierce anti-US protests,
remains volatile.

"You have taken a major step forward for Mosul and Iraq," said
Major-General
David Petraeus, commanding officer of the 101st Airborne Division, after
the
election.

"I want to thank the many citizens who worked with us to organise this
meeting."

Complex mix

The council's composition is an attempt to reflect the ethnic make-up of
Mosul and surrounding areas.

Although Arabs are in the majority, Mosul has a sizeable Kurdish
minority,
which includes sub-groups, as well as Turkmen and Assyrian Christian
groups.

However, US commanders acknowledged that without a reliable census there
had
been a certain amount of guesswork in estimating the size of different
communities, AFP reported.

Delegates also chose an Arab mayor, retired army general Ghanim
al-Basso,
who pledged to work closely with the US-led troops in the city.

"This is the first step on the road to democracy. I promise I will be a
faithful soldier," he said to loud applause from the delegates, meeting
under tight security at the Mosul Social Club.

Also chosen were a Kurdish deputy mayor as well as two assistant mayors
from
the Turkmen and Assyrian Christian communities.

In the past few weeks, there have been violent anti-American protests in
the
city.

It is only recently that relative calm has returned.

US forces have emphasised this will be an interim government until full
elections are held, although this could take up to two years.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/3001263.stm

Published: 2003/05/05 13:43:47

© BBC MMIII




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To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk
All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk


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