Stumping For Sunnis

Some politicians are copying more than slogans from America. "I watched President [-elect] Obama very closely in his race," says Ammar Mohammed Cheyad, 35, a candidate in Anbar province. "I liked very much how he talked of change and how he used media to get his message out." He may not be in Obama's league, but Cheyad and his supporters are using a similar playbook, canvassing door-to-door and telling householders that better government is coming. He also fields questions from the crowd at "conferences," as Iraqis call their version of U.S.-style town-hall meetings. "They wonder about [public] services," says Cheyad. "I explain that if I am elected I will work on the issues of reconstruction."

Still, there have also been echoes of Iraq's bad old days. Police in some areas have been accused of orchestrating raids in order to intimidate candidates. One contender has been assassinated in the insurgent stronghold of Mosul, and posters for some women candidates in Najaf have been covered with obscenities.

Even so, Iraq's campaigners are pushing forward. Although Jaafari's party is considered a long shot, its senior members intend to keep on cultivating popular support by solving tribal feuds. Jaafari figures that if Iraqis bury their old grudges, maybe they can finally move toward real democracy. In a country that's still learning what the word means, it's worth a try.

With Larry Kaplow, Saad al-Izzi and Hussam Ali

© 2009