Iraq - Even in Fallujah votes beat bullet

The Times (UK) reports.

And yet Fallujah, the insurgent stronghold that just 12 months ago was in flames after an all-out assault by US Marines, is today likely to act as a beacon for participation by Sunnis across the troubled Anbar province. Sunni participation will give this election — and subsequent government — a legitimacy impossible for the January poll, which saw widespread Sunni boycott.

Then a tiny percentage of Anbar voted. But, after a change of heart by clerics and political leaders who saw themselves marginalised in the resulting Shia-led Parliament, participation in October’s constitutional referendum increased to 30 per cent across the province, with more than 90 per cent in Fallujah itself. Iraqis expect even greater numbers to turn out in Sunni areas today. Southeast of Fallujah, in the “triangle of death”, Iraqi election officials who risked being run out of polling stations in January now report a surge in demand for election materials.

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