Not enough pollling places may deter Iraqi Christians

WASHINGTON (BP)–Iraqis in the United States and 13 other countries have begun registering to vote in their home country’s election, but the process in this country has disenfranchised Christians, critics charge.

Iraqi expatriates are eligible to vote in the Jan. 30 election that will determine the make-up of a transitional national assembly. That body will draft a constitution and elect a president.

The 14 countries with large Iraqi communities began the registration of voters Jan. 17. Eligible voters will return to the polls to cast their ballots between Jan. 28 and 30.

Some observers say, however, the number and locations of the polling places in this country disfavor the immigrants from an ancient Christian community in Iraq, and the United States government seems indifferent to the problem. Chaldo-Assyrians compose more than 80 percent of the Iraqi population in the United States, said a spokesperson for the Chaldo-Assyrian American Advocacy Council, but the allotment of voting sites does not reflect their dominance in this country, critics charge.

There are five places for Iraqis to vote in the United States, while Iran has six polling locations. Those sites – Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville and Washington, D.C. – are not helpful to two large communities of Chaldo-Assyrians in California, critics contend. About 40,000 Iraqis, primarily Chaldo-Assyrians, live in the Central Valley area around Modesto, making two lengthy trips within two weeks to Los Angeles difficult. Another 25,000 Iraqis, again largely Chaldo-Assyrians, live in San Diego.

Members of Congress have complained unsuccessfully.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), a United Nations agency that is conducting the out-of-country voting, has refused to add Modesto and San Diego as polling sites in the United States despite complaints, a critic said. Two of the cities, Nashville and Washington, have virtually no Chaldo-Assyrian presence, said Jacklin Bejan, spokesperson for the Chaldo-Assyrian American Advocacy Council.

There are only about 3,000 eligible voters, mostly Kurds, in the Nashville area, critics say. This reflects the U.S. government’s “ethnic favoritism” toward the Kurds, Nina Shea told Baptist Press. Kurds are a favored Iraqi minority, and Christians “are seen as an inconvenient minority,” said Shea, director of the Washington-based Freedom House’s Center for Religious Freedom and a member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Shea urged Christians to call the White House and seek President Bush’s intervention. The phone number is (202) 456-1414.

More than 18,000 Iraqi expatriates signed up to vote Jan. 17, the first day of registration, in the 14 countries, according to the IOM. In addition to the United States and Iran, other countries conducting out-of-country voting are Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Jordan, The Netherlands, Sweden, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

In order to vote, a person must be an Iraqi citizen, be eligible to reclaim Iraqi citizenship, or have an Iraqi father.