Large Sunni Voter Turnout Expected in Mosul
In the northern city of Mosul, there is guarded optimism about Thursday's Iraqi elections. In last January's election, the city's Sunni majority stayed away from the polls amid an offensive by the insurgents. But things are different in Mosul this time around.
MELISSA BLOCK, host:
To the north, in Mosul, there's guarded optimism about tomorrow's vote. In last January's election, the city's Sunni majority stayed away from the polls, scared off by an insurgent offensive. But things are different in Mosul this time around, as we hear from NPR's Eric Westervelt.
ERIC WESTERVELT reporting:
One year ago things were grim in this city of nearly two million. Mosul's American-trained police department, once a touted success story, had collapsed in the face of a fierce insurgent onslaught. Right before Christmas a suicide bomber infiltrated the US military's mess hall here, killing 22 people. Winding through Mosul's largely empty nighttime streets in an American Army vehicle, Iraqi interpreter Hik Mot(ph), an ethnic Kurd, recalls those chaotic days back when beheaded corpses of Iraqi police and others were dumped most every night in the nearby Yarmuk traffic circle.
Mr. HIK MOT (Interpreter): Without heads, just kidnapped them from their house and dropped them to the Yarmuk circle. And the people call that circle--they call it `Dead Circle.' Right now a lot quiet--very nice right now.
WESTERVELT: Quiet, but still hardly safe. US Army patrols here get hit daily with roadside bombs, sniper and small-arms fire. A massive firefight in Mosul last month with suspected members of al-Qaeda in Iraq killed at least six foreign fighters, four Iraqi policemen and two US soldiers. Assassinations are still commonplace.
Mosul is a Sunni-dominated city but with a vocal Kurdish minority. In October's constitutional vote, Sunni turnout was near 60 percent of eligible voters, up sharply from January's parliamentary election when Sunnis stayed home. In October, more than half of Mosul's voters rejected the proposed Iraqi constitution, but nationwide it passed.
Unidentified Man #1: ...(Unintelligible).
(Soundbite of soldiers jumping off vehicle)
WESTERVELT: Members of Charlie Company, the 117th Infantry, pour out the back of their Stryker armored vehicles for a pre-election foot patrol. Company Commander Captain Ed Mathidus(ph) leads his men through the sewage-dripped, cobblestone alleyways of a Sunni neighborhood in western Mosul.
It's early evening, but it feels like the dead of night. With the curfew expanded, traffic banned and security fears, most people this night are shuttered indoors. There's little electric light in these back alleys this night, just the soft illumination from a nearly full moon. Merchant Mustafa Hussein(ph) sweeps up around his small candy and soda shop. He casts an anxious glance at the platoon of battle-ready American soldiers slipping quietly up his alleyway. Asked about the elections and the tight security measures, Hussein shrugs.
Mr. MUSTAFA HUSSEIN (Merchant): (Through Translator) My business hasn't really been hurt by these curfews. Most people know this is the decision of the government, what needs to be done for security.
WESTERVELT: Down the alley, Captain Mathidus knocks on the door of a nondescript brick house in this tightly packed residential area.
(Soundbite of knocking)
Unidentified Man #2: (Foreign language spoken)
Unidentified Man #3: Huh?
Unidentified Man #2: (Foreign language spoken)
WESTERVELT: Iraqi policemen warily open the door, greeting their American backers. It's the entrance to a small elementary school, one of dozens of polling sites for tomorrow's elections. The police commander, who doesn't want to give his name, predicts heavy voter turnout tomorrow.
Unidentified Police Commander: (Through Translator) Most people are going to vote, God willing. There's a verse in the Koran that tells us that the people will choose who will be their leader, so these elections really are something from our holy book.
WESTERVELT: But campaigning here, amid the security fears and now the lockdown, has been limited at best, marked by assassinations and intimidation.
(Soundbite of vehicle)
WESTERVELT: Back inside the Stryker gliding down Mosul's eerily quiet streets, Sergeant Albert Sleek(ph) says even if election day goes smoothly, he's far from ready to declare the counterinsurgency fight over.
Sergeant ALBERT SLEEK: After the last elections is when it got a little hot. You know, they could do the same thing this time. They might be pissed off about who wins this election or who gets elected, but it's a hit and miss over here. It can be dry for a long period and then all of a sudden--Bam!--you know, we'll get hit quite a few times. And so it's hard to tell with these guys.
WESTERVELT: The continued danger was underscored today when Iraqi and US forces found at least two roadside bombs in western Mosul, one of them near a polling station. Eric Westervelt, NPR News, Mosul.
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