A Slogan-Filled Election Road Trip

January 31, 2009, 2:15 am

By Sam Dagher
election signsElection signs in Mosul. (Photo: Michael Kamber for The The New York Times)

BASRA, Iraq – I headed south on Wednesday with my Iraqi colleagues to Basra via the Shiite holy city of Najaf to cover the provincial elections. We were held up for about an hour near Baghdad’s southern gate at an Iraqi Army checkpoint because of a suspected roadside bomb. It turned out to be a false alarm.

Then we stopped in Najaf for a couple of hours for some interviews. The whole trip took us almost 12 hours door to door and we passed through the provinces of Babil, Karbala, Najaf, Qadisiya, Muthana and Dhi Qar before finally getting to Basra. Along the way we got our fill of election posters, slogans and promises Iraqi style.

Here’s a sampling:

Baghdad:

“We spend our money for the development and prosperity of the country” – slate of Kurdish parties

“We are poor like you and we work for you” – slate of Shiite cleric affiliated with Moktada al-Sadr

“We do not want elections; we want the tanks to leave” – wall graffiti

“With us your life would be worth something” – slate of Iraqi Islamic Party of Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, a Sunni
election signsElection signs in Mosul. (Photo: Michael Kamber for The The New York Times)

Babil:

“With you, with you to protect our sanctities” – slate of Shiite Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI)

“With your voice we will punish them and build our cities” – slate of independent member of Parliament Mithal al-Alusi. His photo next to a child drinking from a broken water pipe

“Vote for your candidate in the Imposing the Law coalition, your physics teacher Maida Kadhim” – slate of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki


“For the woman, old man and little child” – ISCI slate

“We dream of a city like this” – ISCI slate. Candidate poster showing skyscrapers
election signsElection signs in Mosul. (Photo: Michael Kamber for The The New York Times)

Karbala:

“We welcome the captain of our ship” – banner welcoming former prime minister Ibrahim Jaafari, who is fielding his own slate, on a recent visit to the province. His logo is a sailboat

“To put the smile on the faces of orphans” – ISCI slate

Najaf:

“Strong leadership and bold decisions” – Mr. Maliki’s slate

Qadisiya:

“The lion of security and peace” – ISCI slate. Billboard shows current governor who is from the same party next to a lion

Muthana and Dhi Qar:

Hardly any slogans

Basra:

Just too many slogans and posters to count