Thursday, December 15, 2005

The election day

Today is a holiday, it is the third day of the five days break we have for the sake of the election. It was not just a holiday, it is a curfew from 10:00 pm till 6:00 am of the next day, in addition it is a curfew for all form of vehicles starting from 10:00 pm at Tuesday till 6:00 am of next Sunday (all the days of the holiday).

Early in the morning, all the election centers open their doors to receive the people who come to vote. It was a calm day except for very few sounds of explosion and shooting fire. No report for casualties up to my knowledge.

At about 10:00 am I went to the nearby center for voting. After they searched me, they allow me in, where I saw the supervisor of the center who told me that I have no right to vote here (although the center is only 300 meter from my house), because I registered in another center about 10 km away from my house, from where I received my food ration (according to Oil for Food program). There aren't any means of transportation.
I returned home, thinking with my self is it safe to go there walking, despite my heart problem and the hypertension I had.? When a friend call me, he have the same problem, he heard in the TV that it is possible to vote in the nearby center if our center is far away.

I go to the nearby center again, they told me they heard the news but they can't depend on it, they want a written order.
"Just wait for an hour or two, then come again" they told me. So I did that.
I went again at 3:00 pm, this time with my wife, they accept us and let us vote.

The result will appear at the end of this month as expected, but we all know for sure who will win and why.
If you ask me why I vote, while I know the result in advance ?
It is because of an e-mail I received from an American friend telling me his feeling when he face a similar situation, he said:
" Now it seems certain that my vote will be for the losing side. I find that incredibly frustrating.
Even so, I will vote. I will lose, but I will vote."

I feel just as he felt, and I decided to do what he did, so I voted. Thank you my friend.

4 comments:

Fayrouz said...

I'm glad you got to vote.

Tell you a secret about voting for the loser team? It happens with me all the time. I still vote whenever I have the chance.

God bless you and your family.

Evelyn said...

Words coming from a safe place far away . . . well, we just cannot begin to fathom the true depth of your day-to-day reality. But I want you to know how much I appreciate your blog. Thank you for sharing your experience. It is so good to have the truth from real people, unfiltered by the media, friendly or otherwise. May a better day come for all Iraqi citizens.

GCC Advancement said...

Truth teller,

In the US, when we vote for a candidate for President, it is winner takes all. But your case is different. You are voting for representatives who will then create a government. So your vote goes a lot further than ours. Don't be surprised if you come out of this with a definate say in the future of your country.

madtom said...

Congratulations, they say it's not if you win or lose, but if you play the game that's important. You made the right decision to vote. The one thing your vote will surly gain you, is the right to vote every four years, and the right for your children to vote when your gone.