Comment: Are Iraqis Ready for Democracy?

We, the Iraqis in exiles, have been accustomed to a stereotype mentioned repeatedly by the western and Arab media and politicians that the Iraqi people are not ready for democracy yet! The reasons? They say that Iraq has never been ruled by a democratic regime in its whole history, and that the people are heterogeneous, of different ethnicities, religions and sects. Hence, the story goes on, Iraqis always need a strong leader with an iron fist, like Saddam Hussein, to keep their unity. I believe they are wrong.

Modern western democracy has taken five centuries to mature. It started with great difficulties and has grown gradually. But even today it is not without problems. As Winston Churchill once said, “Democratic government is not perfect…but so far, there is no better government than.. democratic government”. So, why do some people insist that the newly born democracy in Iraq should be perfect from day one, or that Iraq is unfit for democracy? Democracy should start from somewhere at some point, and from there it will grow and mature. That is how it started in the West, and why should Iraq be an exception?

After decades of despotism and repression, we must not expect that a democracy as mature as that in the West will be born in Iraq on January 30. Having said that, and in spite of all the difficulties that Iraqis are facing from extremists, all public opinion polls show that the vast majority of Iraqi people are enthusiastic about the up-coming elections and looking forward to have, for the first time, a democratically elected government. They have suffered heavily from the dictatorial tyrannical regimes. Iraqi people deserve a better government, to live a better life, like the rest of other democratic nations.

This is the first time Iraqis have experienced such a free election campaign. And, so far, it has been clean - no one political group has tried to defame its rivals.

Even when one group has had a grievance against another, it has been sorted out in a civilised manner. For example, the Al-Iraqia group, led by Prime Minister Dr Ayad Allawi, filed a complaint to the election committee against the United Iraqi Alliance, because the latter used the good name of the highly respected Grand Ayatollah Sistani, a Shia religious leader, as their sponsor and put his picture on their posters, to gain popularity at the expense of other groups. It is almost unheard of in the Arab world for a head of government to use proper legal channels to deal with a grievance against a rival. In many Arab countries, no politician would dare annoy or challenge the premier. But in Iraq, they do. Isn’t that democracy in action?

Iraqi people are enthusiastic about the coming elections. It is only Saddam’s followers and their foreign al-Qaeda allies who are trying to derail the democratisation process, because they stand no chance of winning a single seat in the election. They know that they are bankrupt morally, politically and ideologically, and they are rejected by the vast majority of Iraqis.

As an example of Iraqis’ enthusiasm for the coming ballot, here are some quotes from members of the public that appeared in a report by Anthony Shadid in the Washington Post on January 14, 2005.

"It's one of my wishes to die at the gate of the polling station," one said. "I want to be a martyr for the ballot box." "Without elections, there will be tyranny," said another. "Now most people feel they are living in darkness," added a third. "It's time for us to come into the light."

So, here we are, these are the opinions of Iraqis. That is why I am optimistic that democracy in Iraq will succeed. Yes, it is not without price, but it is worth it.

Abdulkhaliq Hussein is a London-based Iraqi writer.