'Iraqi Obama’ runs in elections

He calls himself the "Iraqi Obama" and hopes to channel President Barack Obama's good luck by becoming the first black Iraqi to win an election.

I want to be like Obama

Salah al-Rekhayis lives in a town southwest of Basra called Zubayr, and with the help of his campaign manager-sister and brother, has pasted campaign posters urging citizens to vote for him in Saturday's provincial elections.

He walks in the unkempt streets of his town, bending down to greet children with a big smile and a warm glow about him, feeling confident of the great ambition to win one of the 35 seats up for grabs in Basra.

Al-Rekhayis is among the many Iraqis who have African roots.

"Obama is the reason I decided to run. We both have African roots," said al-Rekhayis. "We never had the same opportunities as other Iraqis before, but Obama gave me the push to run after he took the leadership of the most powerful country in the world."

Al-Rekhayis, a municipal employee, said he didn't have the money to run a full-fledged campaign. His home — a run-down three-roomed space with very little furniture and a photo of Barack and Michelle Obama on the living room wall — was turned into a makeshift campaign office. More