Preparation for Iraqi vote continues amid new attacks
17/1/2005 15:53
Preparation for Iraq's Jan. 30 elections went on Sunday amid new fatal
attacks in major cities and a public protest against the shortage of electricity
and fuel.
A multi-ethnic committee has been set up to supervise the upcoming
vote in the northern oil hub of Kirkuk while voter registration for Iraqi
expatriates have been rolled out in 14 countries under the supervision of the
International Organization for Migration (IOM).
At least nine Iraqis were
killed in separate attacks across the country, including the son of an aide to
Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. In Baghdad, hundreds of
supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr staged a demonstration to demand
better living conditions.
Followers of Sadr, a firebrand Shiite who strongly
opposed US military presence and led intense armed confrontations with the
coalition forces last year in major cities, gathered in front of the oil
ministry in Baghdad to protest against oil and electricity shortages.
An
organizer of the protest said the move was to show what Iraqi people feel about
the current situation in Iraq. He criticized the Iraqi authorities for not
listening to the people or working to improve their living
conditions.
Similar protests were held Saturday in a town south of Baghdad,
which attracted thousands of people.
Nearly two years after the US-led
invasion, many Iraqis complain that they have seen no improvement in their daily
life despite the lifting of the 12-year crippling UN sanctions imposed during
Saddam Hussein's rule.
The supervision committee in Kirkuk consists of four
people, each of them representing one of the main communities in Kirkuk -- a
Kurd, an Arab, a Turkman and a Christian, Iraq's Independent Electoral
Commission said Sunday.
All four members will be equal in their powers to
manage the body, which will supervise the work of the electoral commission and
the organization of the polls.
Earlier this week, the electoral commission
and the Iraqi interim government struck a deal with local Kurds which cleared
the way for about 100,000 Kurds expelled from Kirkuk during Saddam Hussein's
rule to take part in the vote.
As the elections draw near, voter registration
for Iraqi expatriates continued in 14 countries around the world.
The IOM was
authorized by Iraq's Independent Electoral Commission to organize voting outside
Iraq for Iraqi expatriates. The non-governmental humanitarian body has selected
14 countries to carry out the work, where a relatively large Iraqi population
live.
The countries include Jordan, the United States, France, Britain,
Germany, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Iran, Syria
and Turkey.
About 200 Iraqis showed up for a gathering for voter registration
in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates ( UAE). They filled in the
forms, received voting manuals and were briefed on voting procedures by an
official of the IOM.
About 80,000 Iraqis are expected to cast ballots in two
voting stations in the emirates, one in Abu Dhabi and the other in Dubai, an
Iraqi volunteer helping with the registration said.
An estimated 10,000 Iraqi
eligible voters live in the emirates, most of whom are intellectuals and are
expected to take part in the vote.
A day after the Iraqi government unveiled
its security measures to ensure a safe and free election, at least nine Iraqis
died in a string of attacks on Sunday.
Ali al-Khatib, the 30-year-old son of
Sheikh Habib Al-Khatib, was shot dead Sunday by a gunman in the town of
Naamaniya south of Baghdad. His father, Shiite spiritual leader Sisitani's aide
in Wasit province, survived an assassination attempt two months ago.
Five
insurgents were shot dead during a botched attack against US troops in the
restive northern city of Mosul, a senior US officer said. Rebels also mistakenly
killed a child in another attack.
A police officer was gunned down in the
street of the Sunni insurgent bastion of Ramadi, while an official and another
policeman were killed in Baghdad, medical and security sources said.
Two
election centers in Iraq's second largest city of Basra came under mortar
attacks.
As security deteriorates in Iraq, US President George W. Bush said
his country has not set a deadline for its troop withdrawal from Iraq.
In an
interview with the Washington Post, Bush said US troops will be able to begin
leaving Iraq when domestic forces are ready. "The sooner the Iraqis are ...
better prepared, better equipped to fight, the sooner our troops can start
coming home," Bush said.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a key
US ally in the Arab world, said the 2003 invasion of Iraq had made it a more
dangerous place.
"No, Iraq is not safer," Mubarak said in an interview with
Dubai-based Arabic news channel Al-Arabiya. "Terrorism is on the increase, the
militant groups are more numerous, they are dangerous for both them (the United
States) and us."
Xinhua News
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