The Iraqi people had their election. Now what?

Iraq's newest martyr and national hero is Abdul Amir, a policeman guarding a Baghdad polling station on Sunday. Amir detected a suicide bomber walking towards a line of voters and leapt to throw his arms around the insurgent, dragging him into an empty intersection. The attacker, in shock, did not throw his handheld grenade to target a crowd, but set off a belt of explosives to implode his body in the grip of Amir. The policeman bore the entire impact of the blast. Amongst the shrapnel and carnage, the number of Iraqis turning out to vote at the station quickly swelled in response.

As Amir demonstrated, insurgents are not the only Iraqis willing to give up their lives for a cause. National assembly candidates campaigned despite death threats and four have been assassinated. A majority of their constituents were not dissuaded to cast a ballot by rebel violence. Insurgents at election booths were not fighting against a foreign military - suicide bombers went after ordinary Iraqi citizens. Militant groups were not saving the country from an occupying force trying to impose a democratic ritual. Terrorists tried to intimidate their own neighbors, who risked life and limb to exercise the right to vote.

Before the election, coalition forces lacked legitimacy and the policemen they trained were constantly attacked by insurgents. Now the Iraqi public is discrediting these insurgents for endangering civilian lives, while policemen are considered the number one guardians of the country. While instituting a viable and stable government in Iraq remains a daunting task, the focus of Iraqis has shifted from purging the country of outside occupation to keeping internal factions in check so that civil war does not erupt.

Iraq's Sunni minority opposed the removal of Saddam Hussein and they are disenchanted with an election that will restore government representation to the Shiite majority. Although a large portion of Sunnis were apathetic because they felt a Shiite victory to be imminent, Iraqis were voting for a proportionally elected assembly. By boycotting the election and calling it anti-Islamic, Sunnis effectively rejected their fair share in the political dialogue. Shiites are expected to take advantage of this forfeit by forming an alliance with the Kurdish ticket. The combination would enjoy a two-thirds majority of seats, which is needed for the national assembly to appoint a three person presidential council. At the same time, if Shiite parties draft a new constitution based too closely on Muslim law, Kurds, many of which of are Christians, may break the partnership and head for secession.

The threat of civil war intensifies if Iraqi clergy become entangled in law making — Grand Ayatollah Al-Sistani sponsored the Shiite party poised to take more than half of the assembly's seats. Without separation of religion and state, Iraq could resemble Iran, the theocracy next door ruled by Shiite mullahs. Sunnis that hold the reins of power in many surrounding countries would resist a Shiite alliance between Iraq and Iran. Thus, the internal tension between Shiites and Sunnis within Iraq would be echoed throughout the entire region. The hope that Arab nations will democratize could go unrealized if Sunni leaders within the region decide to tighten their authoritarian control in order to balance power. At the same time, Iraq may not even act as a beacon to spread democracy in the Middle East if its national assembly fails to prove that factions can work alongside one another through pluralism and avoid civil war. In the end the ultimate power to form a democracy is with the Iraqi people, and they have taken a clear stand against the rebel groups attempting to splinter the country or throw it into chaos by lining up to vote.

The old Iraqi constitution under Saddam enshrined most of the same rights that democracies hold dear, but the oppressive regime ignored written law and its protections. Up until the election, western countries had talked about a lofty liberation leading to democracy while Iraqis saw their basic right to security challenged on a daily basis by insurgent bombing. Under both Saddam's tyranny and American occupation, freedom was a mirage that did not improve the lives of ordinary Iraqis. The country is in the hands of its citizens again, and their first tangible freedom was to vote in fair and democratic elections. Even with complex challenges ahead, the Iraqi people have made it clear that they will decide the future.