On the Sunni participation in the Iraqi elections
Iraq, Politics, 12/13/2005

The Iraqi elections commission expressed its confidence that the voting process will be completed smoothly. It indicated it had made special efforts in order to ensure the ability of the Arab Sunnis to cast their votes in the governorates of al-Anbar in the west and Ninwa in the north of the country.

On the other hand, the American ambassador in Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad announced that the elections will give an opportunity for Sunnis to get a greater political role that will contribute to lowering the pace of tension in the country.

He expected that no party will get the majority in the new parliament and that the Sunni would get between 40 and 55 seats out of 275 seats. A matter which will push towards the foundations of coalitions to form the new government.

In a separate matter, Iraqi and British officials said that they still do not know about the fate of four kidnapped westerners from the Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT), just one day after the end of the grace period given by their killers to kill them if their demands are not met.

With the continued appeals to release the hostages, the British defense secretary John Reid said in London that his ministry is making utmost efforts to rescue them. For its part, the German government seeks relentlessly to contact the kidnappers on the German female archeologist Suzanne Ostove.

Previous Stories:
  Night curfew in all Iraq; end military attack before elections   (12/12/2005)
  Al-Assad confers with al-Harith al-Dari   (12/12/2005)
  Iraqi governorates aim to coordinate security, demarcate borders   (12/10/2005)

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