“I will only go because I want my name stricken off the voters’ list to prevent my electoral card from being used in favor of any particular faction, as I do not like any of the nominees and therefore do not want to vote for any of them.” This was how journalist Naza Kouran answered the question about her desire to cast her vote in the Provincial Council elections scheduled to take place on Saturday. Concerning the level of participation, Kouran did not express optimism that it would be high, “because participation will be limited to partisan and clan supporters of the nominees,” she said.
This, however, was not the opinion expressed by Taleb Hassan, an inhabitant of Sadr City (the largest popular base of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr), who said, “I will strive to record my choice to represent me in the Provincial Council, because that person alone will be able to fulfill my needs.”
