Iraq and Iran struggling with the basics of democracy

Feb. 13, 2004
Democracy remains elusive along the northern reaches of the Persian Gulf.

Bob Tippee

Democracy remains elusive along the northern reaches of the Persian Gulf.

In Iraq, the problem so far is practicability. In Iran, it's process.

Democracy in Iraq inevitably means significantly greater power for a hitherto powerless Shia majority.

If it's to work, however, an Iraqi democracy also must accommodate Sunnis, Kurds, and other groups.

A system that flexible needs firm footing in a constitution and sound electoral procedures. Iraq meets neither condition. It doesn't even have a voter registry.

A United Nations team in Baghdad to assess these issues on Feb. 13 reported agreement with the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority that a valid election won't yet be possible when sovereignty passes to Iraqis at the end of June.

That judgment hasn't stopped Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the leading Shia cleric, from rejecting a deliberative method that would allow Iraqis to govern themselves until they have a durable voting system. His insistence on immediate elections has been disruptive but, emerging as it does from the religious majority, hardly surprising.

Sistani, who is believed to harbor no political ambitions, is revered by Iraqi Shias and therefore wields great influence.

He's also—although an Iraqi resident for 50 years—a citizen of Iran, which has an electoral crisis of its own.

In the weeks before parliamentary elections scheduled for Feb. 20 in the Islamic republic, heavy-handedness by the Guardian Council has stirred political passions.

The council, which enforces the will of the clerical autocracy, recently disqualified 40% of more than 8,000 Iranians who registered to run for seats in the Majlis. Among the excluded were 87 incumbents.

Under popular pressure, the council has reinstated more than 1,000 of the candidates. But the will of the autocracy, which holds all power in Iran, is clear: to end 8 years of Majlis domination by politicians who, like President Mohammad Khatami, want reform.

Reformist parties are withdrawing from the rigged election. Iranian voters, clearly tired of elections that mean nothing, might boycott.

Iran's crisis demonstrates the problem of elections that do nothing but vent popular will.

Iraqis should avoid Iran's torment. They deserve and should pursue genuine democracy.

(Author's e-mail: [email protected])