BALAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Mullah Nadhim preached open war on U.S. troops for years. In Iraq, voters' fingers are dipped in ink so they can't vote multiple times. He and many other Sunni Muslims in Iraq shunned elections and fought instead with roadside bombs and rocket-propelled grenades. With provincial elections scheduled for autumn, however, Nadhim and other Sunnis say, they made a mistake by sitting out the elections in January 2005. Their absence at the polls, they say, resulted in less political power for Sunnis and more for Shiite Muslims and Kurds. Some Sunnis say they plan to put down their weapons and instead join "the battle of the fingers," a phrase for elections that draws its name from the practice of dipping voters' fingers in ink so they can't vote a second time.
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Sunnis say they made mistake by sitting out 2005 election
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They look forward to "the battle of the fingers" at this year's elections
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Provincial elections are seen as key in empowering Iraqis
He said that spurning the last elections in favor of violence left @placeholder in Balad largely powerless.