Sunday, January 30, 2005

And the winner is...

My congratulations to the Iraqi people! The elections appear to be a huge success, with the Electoral Commission estimating a turnout around 72%. This compares to around 60% in the US elections in November, and less than 46% for the elections to the European Parliament last summer. My home country, Norway, which is one of the safest and richest places in the world, had a turnout of 75,5% in the 2001 parliamentary elections, and a measly 59% in the local (but nationwide) elections in 2003.

Just like the people of Afghanistan, the Iraqi people have overwhelmingly demonstrated their desire to adopt the democratic process despite terrorism, intimidation and propaganda from a variety of local and international sources ranging from Al Qaida to the editorial pages of The New York Times.

The losers in this election are the islamofascists, the disgruntled Saddam loyalists and a few nutcase lefties around the world.

Everybody else wins, whether they understand it or not.

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