Quotes of the Day

It isn't easy being a democrat in Iraq. Consider the plight of Uday Abu Tbikh, an aspiring politician in his mid-30s from the holy city of Najaf. Two months ago, the interim government announced plans to hold a national conference to pick 100 members of a temporary national assembly, which would give some public input to the governing of Iraq before a parliament can be elected next year. Abu Tbikh was determined to participate and make his voice heard. "We believed it would be the solution to getting rid of the U.S. puppet government," he said. But when his local caucus convened in Najaf to pick delegates for the Baghdad conference, Abu Tbikh encountered nothing but frustration. First he learned that the former Governing Council had reserved 20 seats for itself in the new assembly. Then he was told—incorrectly, it turned out—that other spots in the assembly would be set aside for women and members of the conference-organizing committee. After enduring a few days of chaos, Abu Tbikh quit Najaf's caucus in disgust. "This conference was not legitimate," he said. "That's not democracy."

One month since the U.S. handed sovereignty back to Iraqis, democratic rule is still far from sight. Amid complaints from Iraqis like Abu Tbikh and fears that the national conference could turn into a farce, overseers from the United Nations late last week persuaded the Iraqis to postpone the meeting until Aug. 15. The hope is that by then, conference organizers will be able to institute a set of rules that everyone can tolerate. But the delay of Iraq's first meaningful democratic exercise is still a worrying sign—and throws into question whether the country will be ready for elections by next year, the date set by the U.N.

Meanwhile, the violence persists: as conference organizers worried about where to house 1,000 people who would present a tempting target to insurgents, a massive car bomb in Baqubah killed 70 people—the worst attack since the June 28 handover. Insurgents also kidnapped a fresh batch of captives, leading some foreign companies taking part in the country's reconstruction to pull their workers out.

Amid the disorder, it's not surprising that the road to democracy is proving stomach-churning. Even before it was scheduled to begin, the national conference was plagued by infighting and irregularities. A seven-party caucus in Baghdad last weekend to choose delegates to the conference was scuttled after the ballot box was found to be stuffed with patently false photocopied ballots. Six of the parties called for an investigation; the seventh stalked out, effectively invalidating the entire vote. Meanwhile, in an attempt to halt a process they feel unfairly benefits the Shi'ites and the Kurds, many from the disgruntled Sunni political establishment refused to show up at all. And groups with support in restive western Iraq charged that the conference served only the interests of the Americans. "We consider it all as a U.S. plan to control Iraq," said Sheik Jawad al-Khalisi, chairman of the Iraqi National Establishment Conference, which includes Sunnis and nationalists.

Given the acrimony, the U.N.'s decision to delay the conference may turn out to be farsighted. And while Iraqis have a long way to go before they see the actual fruits of democracy, there is in all the jostling, jockeying and dissent the stirrings of political change. Though some Iraqi officials criticized the delay—"It is time for the U.N. to get off its goddam high horse," groused one—others saw the chaos and confusion as a positive sign. "I don't consider the delay a failure, but a success," says Sayyid Ayaad Jumaluddin, who is one of the conference's organizers. To Jumaluddin, the number of voting irregularities was "evidence of a real desire to participate."

Puffing on a magnificent Cohiba cigar at his home beside the Tigris River, Jumaluddin tries to put the rocky start of local democracy in perspective. "Iraqis don't know what democracy is," he says. He tries to explain the challenge by relating a joke that is making the rounds in Baghdad: "An old woman asks her son, 'What is this democracy I hear so much about? What does it mean?' Her son tells her that every four years there will be a new President. 'Isn't that wonderful, Mother?' The old woman thinks about it for a moment, and then asks, 'Does that mean every four years there will be looting and fighting?'" Iraqis still need to be convinced that democracy can have an upside as well.

• Christopher Allbritton | Baghdad
• Amid suspicion and infighting, Iraq's first move toward an elected government is delayed