Under Syria's watchful eye, voters sample democracy

DAMASCUS -- The buses stopped a few yards away from the polling center and dozens of men and women spilled out. Carrying Iraqi flags, they started chanting: "We are proud of Iraq. . . . Kick all the evil people out and Iraq is the best place in the world."

As they marched toward the entrance of the station, the Iraqis, including a couple of turbaned clerics, started clapping. A few women were crying.

"I have never voted in 60 years, this is the happiest day in my life," said a woman who gave her name as Layal. "I've been living in Lebanon since 1986 and I hope that my vote today will bring me one step closer to going home to Iraq."

For the second time in just over a week, this group of Iraqis had traveled from neighboring Lebanon, first to register and, yesterday, to cast their ballots. One man had brought his young children with him and said he wanted them to witness this "historic day."

The scene was viewed with some apparent unease by nearby Syrian security agents, who are not used to such spontaneous, popular outbursts. Syria remains a tightly controlled country, ruled by the Ba'ath party.

Syria is one of 14 countries where Iraqis have been casting ballots since Friday. In Damascus, they did so under the watchful eyes of Syria's president, Bashar Assad, whose picture, along with that of his late father Hafez, hangs in every classroom.

But outside the schools, in neighborhoods with large Iraqi communities, hundreds of posters of Iraqi candidates from a dizzying range of political and religious backgrounds lined the walls.

The pictures illustrated the choice available to Iraqis now that the Ba'ath party no longer rules Iraq, but it made the Syrians acutely aware of the lack of variety they have in their own elections. It's perhaps to try to avoid this rare exercise in democracy on their territory, albeit by proxy, that Syrian authorities first appeared sluggish in approving the Iraqi polls in Damascus. The agreement with the International Organization for Migration, which organized the absentee vote, was only signed on Jan. 2, weeks after preparations for the polls had started in the other 13 countries.

"The Syrians expressed their political will to support the Iraqi elections, but it took them some time to understand the operational needs," said Luis Martinez-Betanzos, head of the IOM's operation in Syria. "This is a new exercise for them, but since the agreement cooperation has been excellent."

Billboards from the IOM calling on Iraqis to register were displayed on the main streets of Damascus, and lists of polling stations as well instructions to Iraqi voters were published in the state-controlled newspaper. Heavy security was deployed near the polling stations and nearby streets were closed off. But coverage by the local state-controlled media was minimal.

"We in Syria have done everything to help Iraqis as they vote outside their country," said Syria's information minister, Mehdi Dakhlallah. "All countries in the region agree that Iraq needs to recover its sovereignty and independence, and any election that helps Iraq achieve this is a positive step. But if Iraqis don't all vote, things could get worse. "

The number of Iraqis voting abroad was relatively small. Overall, just over 280,000 expatriate Iraqis out of an estimated 1 million eligible have registered to vote in today's elections, according to the IOM. The low numbers have been blamed both on apathy and security concerns. Of the estimated 200,000 to 500,000 Iraqis in Syria, only 16,581 registered.

"People are afraid; they are worried that even here there will be attacks against polling stations," said one young Iraqi volunteer working at the polling station. He declined to give his name because he said he feared reprisals against his family back in Iraq, something he said other Iraqis were also worried about.

Iraqis living far away from polling stations also complained about the expense of having to make separate trips to register and vote. Other Iraqis boycotted the elections for political reasons. But regardless of the turnout, analysts say Arab governments, including Syria, are bound to feel threatened by Iraq's multiparty elections.

"Despite the mess in Iraq, the elections in Iraq are a step in the right direction. They're more democratic than elections in most Arab countries," said Ammar Abdulhamid, a Syrian analyst who runs a forum to raise awareness about minorities in the region. "The threat to Arab governments is not immediate, there isn't going to be a revolution tomorrow, but the pressure on governments will grow, people in the region are starting to ask why they can't also have free, multiparty, democratic elections, without an American invasion."

Syria has as much to fear from a democratic Iraq as from an unstable one. The United States has repeatedly accused Damascus of trying to stop the emergence of a stable Iraq by encouraging the insurgency against American troops. Syria denies the allegations and says that chaos in Iraq is not to its advantage, as the violence could eventually spill across the border.

Other Arab governments are also watching today's election warily. One main worry is the rise of a Shi'ite state.

Sunni Gulf rulers are worried the vote will embolden Shi'ite minorities in their own countries, from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain. King Abdullah of Jordan even openly raised the specter of a "Shi'ite crescent" from Iran to Lebanon through Iraq and Syria. The king has accused Iran, where Shi'ites are in the majority, of trying to influence elections in Iraq, an allegation denied by Tehran.