Last Update: 13/01/2005 18:14

Israelis of Iraqi origin can vote in Iraqi elections
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent

Registration will begin in four days, and anyone who is or once was an Iraqi citizen, even if he was deprived of the citizenship, is eligible to vote, Sarah Tosh, spokesperson for Iraq's out-of-country-voting (OCV) central headquarters, said Wednesday.
"There are no restrictions on Iraqis on the basis of religion, race or sex," said Tosh. "This definitely includes those who are Israeli citizens today."

Anyone who has an original Iraqi birth certificate may take part in the vote. Other required certificates are an Iraqi passport, an identity card, or a form from the Iraqi population registrar testifying that the holder is or was an Iraqi citizen.

A wedding registration from Iraq, a university graduation certificate or land registry ownership certificates will also be accepted. Those whose father is Iraqi may also vote, even if they were born in another country, as long as they have a certificate proving it. However, children to mothers of Iraqi descent may not vote, because the Iraqi law from 1957 grants citizenship only to children with Iraqi fathers.

Registration will take place from January 17-23, and polling from January 28-30. Eligible voters will have to produce their registration receipt and ID to cast their ballot. More details may be found on www.ccicoa.org.

"I call on everyone who lives in the free states to come and vote, to provide a counter balance to the voters from other countries," said Mithal al-Alousi, the Iraqi politician who visited Israel last year and is today the secretary general of the Democratic Party of the Iraqi nation. He was referring to hundreds of thousands of votes that will come from ballots posted in Iran.

Some 130,000 Jews emigrated from Iraq to Israel after it's establishment, decimating one of the oldest Jewish communities in the Arab world. The Jews left considerable property behind, as the Iraqi government forbade them to take it out of the country or sell it.

Shlomo Hillel, former Knesset speaker and winner of the Israel Prize for his activity on behalf of Iraq's Jews, said Wednesday that if former Iraqis living in Israel may vote in the elections "it would be a very significant step signaling Iraq's willingness to change direction."

However, Hillel said he finds it difficult to believe that anyone who announces that he is an Israeli citizen would be allowed to vote.

Former defense minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, who immigrated to Israel from Iraq at 12, does not believe Israelis will vote "because anyone who sees Israel as his country will not vote in the Iraqi elections."
 
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