Election Night

I've been in the office most of the day working on a report during the Iraqi National Election. Within the last few hours all hell has broken loose (but in a good way, I suppose). Everyone is shooting off their machine guns. I decided to take a break and go for a run in the local park but the shooting only intensified ... and it seemed that everyone was shooting in the direction of the park!

I managed to get around the park once before I couldn't take it anymore. Sometimes you'd see the tracer bullets arcing towards you and then the little red dot would fad away as it made its downward swoop (and you'd be crossing your fingers that it wasn't on your head) and sometimes you'd hear the reports close by but see nothing (those are way scarier). Once I got out of the park, the noise was even louder as it seems every side street has its gun-totting reveler. Haven't these people ever heard of fireworks? How 'bout some sprarklers, instead?

Two parties were duking it out as far as the Kurds are concerns the Kurdistani List (joint PUK/PDK Parties) and the Change Party (guess who is the underdog?) .... I just got off the phone with a friend who is at the Change Party headquarters and they seem to be celebrating a win, atleast in Sulaimani Governorate where I'm located.

I just hope no one was hit by a stray bullet!