Iraqis Honored for Braving Threats of Violence to Elect New Government

Dec. 26, 2005 — -- "World News Tonight" honors the courageous Iraqi voters as the first "Persons of the Year."

They stood tall and went to the polls in the midst of war. They waited for hours and braved very real threats of violence. Iraqi voters came by the millions to have a say in the leadership of their country.

Iraqi voters have came to the polls three times this year -- in January, October and December. Two weeks ago, they approved a draft constitution and elected a parliament. It was the first democratically elected assembly in a generation.

It was a cause for celebration for so many across this wartorn country. The air was filled with joy, determination and the sense of shared responsibility.

Every voter had to dip a finger in purple ink, an attempt to keep people from voting more than once. That purple smudge became a symbol -- a badge of honor."My finger," an Iraqi voter told ABC News, "is like a thorn in the eyes of the terrorists."

Another called the vote: "Our purple revolution."

They were revolutionaries: a Shiite in Baghdad, a Sunni in Fallujah, a mother and her mother, soldiers voting early so that they could guard the polls for the safety of other voters.

What happens in 2006 is unknown, but we do know that in 2005, these millions of Iraqis made a difference -- one purple ink stain at a time.

And so though the votes are still being tallied in Iraq, "WNT" recognizes the Iraqi voters.

For them, the first step has been made to forming the first permanent government in Iraq.