A campaign poster for Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki hangs from a building in Baghdad's Sadr City district, Jan. 29, 2009. The nation is holding its first free provincial elections entirely run by Iraqis, Jan 31. Photo by Sgt. Jerry Saslav, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs.

SADR CITY

Provincial elections are being held today, and most public structures have, in some way shape or form, campaign posters attached to them.

There have been elections in Iraq since Saddam Hussein’s fall from power, but this is the first totally Iraqi-run election. The Iraqi Security Forces and emergency services voted Jan. 28, allowing them to provide security today.

Lt. Col. Craig Simonsgaard, commander of the military transition team working with the Iraqi Army’s 44th Brigade, 11th Division, met with the brigade’s Soldiers shortly after most had voted.

“The first thing they did was hold up their index fingers,” said Simonsgaard. Purple ink on the index finger indicates that a person has voted.

“They are all extremely proud of being able to vote. They take that purple finger very serious, and they take a lot of pride in it,” said Simonsgaard.

One of those proud Soldiers was Iraqi Army Pvt. Hussain Ali Hussain.

“We were waiting for this day. You see my finger? This is the ink. It is evidence and proof that I voted,” said Hussain. “I was waiting for this day to go vote for my government. They are representing me now.”

Today’s election was a topic of discussion in most neighborhoods.

“God willing, I’ll vote,” said Waten Naam, a chai tea stand owner in Baghdad’s Sadr City district.

Officials have been busy making preparations for the election. Security is a major factor: everything from securing the ballots themselves to providing security to the polling sites.

“There’s improvement in the security over here and the procedures to make the elections … better,” said Ahmed Kadem, a customer at Naam’s stand. “Now it’s secure. It’s quiet – everything will go okay.”

The average citizen’s sense of security will help determine the size of the voter turnout.

“Prior to this, we could not sit like this, drinking chai,” said Hasham Sadah, another customer of Naam’s. “Now, we are sitting; we feel we are safe, and we feel secure … we’re going to vote.”

The ISF has stationed troops outside the voting centers in order to ensure a safe voting environment.

“The first election we had a fear to go to the voting centers. We’d think there’s a [bomb] or someone’s going to attack the voting centers, but now we have security,” said Naam. “We hope that after this election, there’ll be a lot of improvement. Things are going to go better.”

One sign that Iraq is changing is that Iraqi citizens are not afraid to tell people who they voted for. Simonsgaard found himself discussing the election with an IA officer, who told him how he voted.

“It wasn’t for Maliki’s government,” said Simonsgaard. “I think that’s an important indicator that you have a member of the establishment, a member of the Army is able to say: ‘I didn’t vote for the prime minister. I didn’t vote for his party.’”

(By Sgt. Jerry Saslav, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs)