Sunnis go to polls, this time to retain a voice

In this town, nicknamed the City of Mosques, the scratchy loudspeakers of muezzins that once preached resistance to the American occupation implored Sunni Arabs to defy bombs and vote Sunday. They did, in a landmark election that demonstrated how far Iraq has come and perhaps how far it has to go. The droves of Sunni Arab residents casting ballots in towns like Falluja–the name itself synonymous with the cradle of the insurgency, where relatively few voted in the last election five years ago–promised to redraw Iraq's political landscape. The turnout delivered Sunnis their most articulated voice yet on the national stage, seven years after the American-led invasion ended their dominance. Yet the act of their empowerment Sunday may make that landscape even more combustible, possibly even risking a revival of sectarian conflict. The demands of Sunni voters, from securing the presidency for a Sunni to diluting Iran's influence, could make the already formidable task in Iraq of forming a coalition government even more difficult.