Apathy and apprehension keeping Iraqis from registering, official says

Apathy and apprehension are keeping exiled Iraqis away from voter registration stations, the head of Australia's overseas voting program said Saturday.

Despite predictions that as many as 50,000 Iraqis living in Australia could join the electoral rolls, only 6,500 have so far registered to vote in their homeland's first independent election in nearly 50 years.

The voter registration period was originally scheduled to last seven days, but officials on Saturday extended the timeframe by two more days to help boost turnout.

Earlier this week, election officials also extended the operating hours of polling stations around the world to help accommodate registrations outside business hours.

Nevertheless, Australia's voter registration numbers continue to lag behind expectations. 

Bernie Hogan, the head of Australia's overseas voting program, on Saturday revised his registration target to 10,000 Iraqis and said he has been disappointed by the response.

"It's a mixture of apathy and apprehension," Hogan told The Associated Press, explaining why he believed Australia's Iraqi community was keeping away from the polls. "The apathy comes from people who say nothing's going to happen, it's a sham, I'm comfortable here in Australia and I'm not going to get involved."

But a larger section of the community is simply suspicious of the process, he said, afraid of adding their names to a government-sponsored list they fear could be used against them.

"They're very distrusting," Hogan said. "After decades and decades of tyranny and government abuse they're not confident about the future of government and they're not confident about the use of registration material."

Hogan said registration turnout had been lowest in the Shiite and Kurdish communities, while members of Australia's thriving Assyrian community have embraced the election with open arms.

"This is a historical moment for all Iraqis," said Oberon Yalda, 52, at a voter registration station in the western Sydney suburb of Fairfield. "Especially (the) Assyrians _ this is the first time we can vote for our own people."

Alber Oraha, a 40-year-old cabinet maker who fled Iraq in 1986, said he was thrilled to register and could not wait to cast his vote.

"This thing is really something big for me, coming in to vote, to chose which one I want to rule my country in a democratic way," he said "It's like a dream, a dream come