January 7, 2005

Details, Details

, one of five U.S. cities where Iraqi expatriates will be able to vote in the upcoming Iraqi election, details are still up in the air just 10 days out, reports The Tennessean today.

Will the polling places be ready when the election days come?

"Yes we will, but there's much work to do," said Mohammed Albadran, a Nashville resident who will be training poll workers for the IOM. He sighed when he heard the "will we be ready" question again, then he laughed - a rolling, hearty chuckle that filled the meeting room at the Iraqi House of Nashville on Nolensville Road.

Albadran estimated 5,000-6,000 voters will come to Nashville during the two-week window of registration, Jan. 17-23, followed by the election. Expatriate voters will have three days to cast ballots, while polling inside Iraq will take place on one day, Jan. 30.

"We expect them to come from Tennessee and the states that surround Tennessee - even some from Florida," Albadran said, who noted that it will be up to individuals to provide their own transportation to the polling site.

"People are very excited. The only problem is that they have to come twice — once to register and then to vote. But they will work it out. We have made some arrangements. We have said at the mosques that families from other states can stay in our homes. Anybody who comes will have a place to stay." The Al Mahdi Islamic Center mosque will provide food, Albadran added.

Albadran, a U.S. citizen since 1999, said voting in this election may be the most important ballot choices of his lifetime. "For us, we have to vote because we have a good country without Saddam. I think that maybe we will go back one day. This is for our future, for our children's future."