Iraqis Brace for Election Day

The sound of car horns honking and revellers shouting filled the air as hundreds of cars lined the main street of Sulaimaniyah on January 27.

Taking advantage of the relative calm in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region, political activists and ordinary citizens were wrapping up the last official day of campaigning in a party-like atmosphere. People carrying campaign banners hung out of car windows, stood on the streets or sat in the back of pickup trucks.

Most of the flags and posters were for the two main Kurdish parties and their leaders: the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, PUK, headed by Jalal Talabani, and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, KDP, led by Massoud Barzani.

Shamam Jamal stood near a local KDP office distributing posters that said, “Cast your vote for the Kurdish list. Cast your vote for the KDP.”

Nizar Ihsan, who sells small replicas of the Kurdistan flag, said she was happy with the campaigning, because it was good for business. “I have sold 3,000 flags of Kurdistan this evening,” she said, beaming.

University student Brawa Kamaran was also out on the street to celebrate the last day of campaigning and to watch the scene. “We will participate in the election so that all the ethnic groups - Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, and Turkoman - can set out a new history and live together in a united Iraq,” Kamaran said.

Other parts of Iraq were considerably less festive, with residents preparing for the elections by stocking up on food, water and other provisions before strict curfews and travel restrictions came into force.

People were also buying emergency supplies in case violence breaks out on election day. In Baghdad, there were long lines at bakeries and grocery stories. Hussein Hadi, 25, bought five baskets of bread, saying he wanted to be prepared.

“No one knows what will happen tomorrow,” he said.

Kareem Hadi, a supermarket owner in the poor district of Hai Amel, said his customers were stocking up on everything they’ll need for the next few days. “Their main concern is to buy anything and everything, whether it’s a necessity or a luxury product,” he said.

As in Baghdad, prices of bread and other items in Kut, south of Baghdad, have risen with the increasing demand, causing even more difficulties for residents.

Najia Kerar queued for several hours to buy eggs and meat. “I was standing in another line, but then the shopkeeper said there was no more stuff to be sold,” she said. “So now I’m standing in this queue to get what I need.”

Rebaz Mahmood and Ziyad al-Ujaily are IWPR trainee journalists in Iraq.