High turnout in Iraqi historic elections expected
Iraq, Politics, 12/15/2005

A strong explosion took place in the Iraqi capital Baghdad several minutes after the opening of the ballot centers in the first permanent parliament since the American occupation of the country in march 2003.

One security source said the explosion took place inside the Green Zone which includes the American and British embassies and official government buildings. The source did not indicate to any human losses or casualties.

Al-Qaida organization in Iraq led by Auy Musab al-Zarqawi announced it will launch a new armed campaign in coincidence with the Iraqi legislative elections.

In a statement on the Internet, the organization said that the aim of this campaign is to spoil the democracy, which it described as the wedding of the disbelievers, noting that several Iraqi and American positions were bombarded that day in Baghdad and its outskirts, in Anbar, Musil and Salah Eddine.

Observers expect a large turnout for the elections ranging between 70 to 80 percent.

Some 15.5 million Iraqis are eligible to vote and were invited to elect 275 parliamentarians out of 7655 candidates for various political forces and trends.
The final results of the voting process will not appear before two or three weeks because of the relative representation rate and because of the need to decide on any arising objections to the voting operations.

The Iraqi expatriates along the two past days cast their votes in 15 countries including Jordan, Iran, Syria, Canada, Austria, Holland, Germany, the USA, Britain and the USA. The early voting started on Monday in hospitals, camps, prisons in various parts of Iraq.

The UN secretary general Kofi Annan urged in a statement the Iraqi people to take part intensively in the elections and to allow the opportunity for peace and national reconciliation as well as to put an end to violence and to any acts that will adversely affect the democratic process and building a "united and stable " Iraq.

The Iraqi President Jalal al-Talibani called for making the day of the elections as "a day of national unity." In a televised speech he urged the Iraqis to vastly take part in the elections, expressing his hope that Iraq will have a state of law and a strong coalition government representing all social strata in Iraq.

Earlier, more than 1000 Sunni scholars in Iraq made an Ifta on the need of the participation of the Iraqis in the elections. The chairman of the Sunni Waqf court Sheikh Ahmad Abdul Ghafour said that this call is addressed to the Iraqis inside and outside Iraq in all their social strata.

Previous Stories:
  The Islamic Army and the elections   (12/14/2005)
  Iraqi defense minister exposed to assassination attempt   (12/14/2005)
  On the Sunni participation in the Iraqi elections   (12/13/2005)
  Election voting starts in Iraq   (12/13/2005)
  Scores of Iraqi policemen, civilians, and American soldier killed   (12/13/2005)
  US, Iraqi soldiers killed   (12/12/2005)

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