Iraqis And Iraqi-Americans Head To The Polls

Published April 30, 2014 at 12:40 PM EDT

An Iraqi woman casts her vote in Iraq's first parliamentary election since U.S. troops withdrew at a polling station in the capital Baghdad on April 30, 2014. (Ali Al-Saadi/AFP/Getty Images)

In Iraq today, people are voting in the first parliamentary elections since American forces withdrew in 2011.

There were also nine polling places set up in the U.S. for Iraqis and Iraqi-Americans to vote. One of the Iraqi-Americans who voted, Agnes Merza of Morton Grove, Illinois, speaks to Here & Now’s Robin Young.

The election comes amid a terrible spasm of violence in Iraq, including sectarian disputes and brutal fighting spilling over from neighboring Syria.

Despite this mess, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Lakiki has said that his party is certain of victory, which would lead to a third, four-year term for the prime minister.

NPR International Correspondent Alice Fordham was in Iraq recently, and discusses the latest developments from today’s election.

Guest

Agnes Merza, Iraqi-American who lives in Morton Grove, Illinois.
Alice Fordham, international correspondent for NPR, based in Beirut, Lebanon. She tweets @AliceFordham.