BY TURKER ALKAN
RADIKAL- It’s difficult to predict if last weekend’s elections in Iraq will be a step towards democracy, or cause new confusions. However, they made certain issues clear. Firstly, the position of terrorist insurgents, who were trying to find an armed solution to conflicts, must have been weakened because the rate of participation in elections was more than expected. Of course, results of elections are open to discussion, but the result isn’t the violence and the violence isn’t approved by the people. We will see if terrorist insurgents will end the attacks by evaluating these results. Secondly, the high rate of participation in elections will decrease the hesitation concerning the legality of occupation forces. The people approved the suggested political solution in principle by voting in these elections. However, it wouldn’t be right to suggest that the people approved the occupation by depending on it. However, they elected the most bloodless way to end the occupation. In addition, this process might accelerate the departure of allied forces from Iraq.
The disagreements to occur concerning the legality of elections, the way to share the political power, the policy to be followed by the administration and basic characteristics of the constitutional order in the government to be established following the elections might cause new conflicts, even a civil war. These elections seem to be the beginning of a new process. Arabs’ unfamiliarity with the culture of consensus, the lack institutions which can ensure the democratic consensus, Iraq’s religious and ethnic dividedness and neighboring countries’ tendency towards creating problems by benefiting from this dividedness will force the political power. Considering this atmosphere from a wide perspective, although Iraqis have a reason to be happy, this shouldn’t be more than a careful optimism. The establishment and implementation of democracy with all its institutions and processes require a long and difficult process. Iraqis took the first undecided step. I hope this will continue. A new page is being opened in the Middle East.