Omar al-Saleh

Omar al-Saleh's picture
Omar al-Saleh
Producer | Iraq
Biography

Omar al-Saleh is reporting from Iraq on the eve of the country's 2010 general elections.

Latest posts by Omar al-Saleh

By Omar al-Saleh in Africa on May 19th, 2012


What I saw at the polling stations in Benghazi on Saturday was amazing: The spirit of the people, the happiness in their eyes, the smiles.

Some had never voted in their lives. 

I even saw a blind man making the effort, helped out by Benghazi election committee workers at Tarik Ben Zyad school. 

Another voter was holding the hand of his elderly mother; both were smiling, you just sensed how happy they were after they dipped their fingers in the durable ink.
By Omar al-Saleh in Africa on May 12th, 2012
Photo by EPA
Libya will be holding its first general elections next month, the first free and multi-party polls perhaps in 47 years.

Over a million voters have registered since voter registration opened on May 1. The two-week exercise is to end on May 14. But candidates and parties were given only eight days to register.

Parties and candidates competing for the 200 seats of the National Congress (parliament) have protested saying they won't have enough time to meet the requirements in order to get them registered. 

The parties also criticised the National Transitional Council, the interim government, for being slow to enact laws that regulate their work and formation.
Libya will be holding its first general elections next month, the first free and multi-party polls perhaps in 47 years.
By Omar al-Saleh in Africa on May 10th, 2012
People take part in the funeral of Ali Al-Quoud, a guard at Libyan prime minister's office, in Tripoli May 9 [Reuters]

Tuesday's attack by gunmen on the headquarters of Libya's interim government was not the first time when former revolutionaries had used their weapons to enforce their demands and it probably won't be the last.

But the incident was definitely the most violent so far.

Around 200 ex-fighters with 50 vehicles armed with multiple rocket launchers and anti-aircraft guns surrounded the headquarters of the government. The clash left some people dead or injured.

At the scene, you feel how tense it is.

Tags: Libya
By Omar al-Saleh in Africa on January 9th, 2011
[Photo by Reuters]

It was a slow start to the first day of south Sudan's referendum for southerners living in South Darfur.

At the main polling center in Nyala, the regional capital, southerners were eager to vote. An old man using clutches walked in to choose, unity or "freedom".

He chose the latter.

By midday, voter turnout grew.

All indications coming from south Sudan suggest the vote for separation will prevail. But not all southerners in Nyala are choosing the same.

The Sultan of the African Dnika Ngok tribe in Nyala says he voted for unity.

"I built this school ... I was here since the 1960s .... I am not going anywhere. this is my home," said the tribesman.

"It's up tp people to choose but I've always campaigned for unity among my tribe."

But Darfur is not where you can gauge the real trend.

Tags:
By Omar al-Saleh in Africa on January 8th, 2011
Photo from AFP

Darfur is watching!

As south Sudan's separation is becoming more of a reality, Southern Darfur is watching the outcome very carefully.

Walking in Nyala central market, I encounter an old man. He refuses to be filmed but he says he was an officer in the army who fought against the south.

He now wants "a referendum and self-determination" for Darfur.

The market was busy with people and shoppers. But getting the whole picture of what people really think is a challenge. After all Darfur has three states. That could be bigger than two or three or even four smaller European states.

But you would find some willing to speak up and some are blunt about it.

"We want separation for Darfur... this has long been our demand," says Merchant Ibrahim Mustapha.

But Mustapha's friend, who is sitting next to him, disagrees.

"No, south Sudan's separation will not effect Darfur... the relationship between people here is different...

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By Omar al-Saleh in Middle East on March 8th, 2010
Photo from AFP

The early hours of the polling day in the capital of Anbar province, Ramadi.

Streets deserted , shops are closed - the city virtually shut down.

At first, the number of police and army protecting the Kenda polling station overtook the number of voters!

The reason perhaps was the mortar attacks that echoed in the early hours ... and even the night before when three mortars fell near a polling station.

Then slowly, people started to show up and the numbers started to grow.

The head of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) says the turn out in the whole of Anbar province was more than 30 per cent as of midday.

The voters I spoke to had two things in common: those who didn't vote in the 2005 general elections admitted making a mistake by allowing "the wrong people in parliament" while those who voted want a new government that provides services, jobs, stability and progress.

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By Omar al-Saleh in Middle East on March 6th, 2010
AFP photo
I had never thought I would be reporting from the capital of Anbar, Ramadi.
 
Simply because of what I had heard and read about this city.
 
Ramadi and Falluja are the main cities of Anbar and they were the most violent in the country.
 
But it’s now a different place despite being still dangerous. Its residents say: "Oh, it’s much much different then before."
 
I had a walk in the city’s main market and streets. What I saw was ordinary, simple people going on with their daily lives.
 
Nervous police
 
But you can feel the hardships they went through by looking in their eyes or faces.
Tags: Iraq
By Omar al-Saleh in Middle East on March 4th, 2010
AFP photo
Iraq's biggest province Anbar is getting ready to vote in general elections on March 7th.

Special voting for military personnel, patients, prisoners are voting in on the 5th of March.

What makes this election special for Anbar is that last time Iraq voted for parliament in 2005, the province was under the grip of different armed groups and al-Qaeda.

Anbar's capital Ramadi and main city of Falluja were the birthpalces for the Iraqi insurgency against the US-led occupation.

Some clerics and armed groups issued fatwa or religious ruling calling on people not to vote. So many either boycotted or could not vote.

Even the few blocs or candidates were scared to put up their posters on the streets.

Now it’s a totally different story.

More than 500 candidates in Anbar alone and the streets are full of their posters.

Tags: al-Qaeda, Iraq
By Omar al-Saleh in Middle East on March 3rd, 2010

He’s been hailed as a hero. The governor of Anbar is back in town after narrowly escaping a suicide bomb attack in late December.

Governor Qasim Mohammed Abid lost his hand and has a broken leg. He still remembers what happened:

"I remember from the first moment ... I'd seen the suicide bomber and I saw the smoke coming out of his body.

But I didn’t hear the noise after that. I’ve been attacked and injured in many places ... my arm has been lost and my leg is broken and under treatment and many other injuries ... fortunately I got good treatment in Baghdad, Germany and the United States, and I came back two days ago in good condition."

By Omar al-Saleh in Middle East on March 1st, 2010

Campaigning for Iraq's election on March 7 is entering the final stage, with only four days left for candidates to convince their voters before a two-day period of silence, Then on March 5, special voting gets under way for those serving in the military, those sick in hospitals and prisoners.

Candidates are using the social networking website Facebook for the first time in addition to appearing on local and Arab television stations to present their messages. And there’s a lot of talk of vote buying too - giving gifts and cash.

On the streets of Baghdad, there is a sea of posters everywhere - in public squares, gardens, on electric poles; someone even thought to put their posters on a big balloon and send it into the sky.

Tags: Iraq

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Omar al-Saleh
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Omar al-Saleh is reporting from Iraq on the eve of the country's elections.

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