Elections in Iraq: From Insurgence to Politicking and from Politicking to Governance

Provincial Councils Elections on January 31, 2009 heralded an important stage in Iraq's political life after Saddam Hussein. The elections although were held freely and democratically, votes were cast according to traditional patterns and ethnic-tribal and religious considerations. This very fact reveals the paradox of democracy in today's Iraq, because most of violent actions in recent years were undertaken based on such traditional patterns and ethnic-tribal and religious factors. According to the author, from the time when the issue of tribe's shares in power came up, the phase of politicking has replaced the phase of insurgence, which should be regarded as a positive development.