Iraq: It's Election Day on Twitter!

Exclusive #iraq10 picture from polling station in #Baghdad: www.mict-international.org/1a.jpg

Exclusive #iraq10 picture from polling station in #Baghdad: www.mict-international.org/1a.jpg

It's election day in Iraq and the Twittersphere has been abuzz with updates since the early morning.

To keep tweeps updated, a special service is up at @iraqelections where “30 correspondents from across Iraq will twitter report on election events from 10am hour by hour as they witness them on the ground.”  It is a project coordinated by German media development organization MICT – Media in Cooperation and Transition.

@iraqelections urges readers to:

Follow our coverage of #iraqelections on Sunday, live here on Twitter. 40 Iraqi journalists #tweeting regular election updates!

Another announcement reads:

We're live – translations are on their way! Follows us for live tweets about the #iraqelection from inside #Iraq. Join the debate #iraq10

Updates by observers on the ground are typical of many elections around the world, except that Iraq is a special case. Bombs went off throughout the day and clashes were reported between various factions.

On @iraqelections, the reporters who toyed with Twitter did a fantastic job keeping us updated using social networking tools.

In one update, Laith reports:

ليث بغداد عشرات العوائل من منطقة الكرادة يحرمون من التصويت لعدم ورود اسمائهم في سجل الناخبين #iraq10 #iraqelection
Laith: Baghdad: Tens of families from the AlKaradah region denied voting because their names are not on the voters register

From Sulaimaniya, Jamal writes:

#SULAIMANIYA, Jamal: Voting stations are closed. Press is not allowed to enter and monitor the counting of votes. #iraq10

Elsewhere on the Twittersphere, @iawia1 notes:

Today Iraq's having the most democratic election in the region.Hope it holds&be example4mideast #iranelection #iraqelection #iraq

American @jeffmeyerson is positive:

Celebrate with freedom-loving Iraqis as today they make their case for democracy. #Iraq

And Miguel Marquez, ABC News’ correspondent, sums up the day saying:

#Iraq elex: 38 killed,73 injured. Nearly 40 explosions. Still the Iraqis turned out to vote. Looks like vote cnt will be higher outside BGD

1 comment

Join the conversation

Authors, please log in »

Guidelines

  • All comments are reviewed by a moderator. Do not submit your comment more than once or it may be identified as spam.
  • Please treat others with respect. Comments containing hate speech, obscenity, and personal attacks will not be approved.