Concerns over the Iraqi elections

Concerning the elections to be held on January 30th, the interim Iraqi prime minister Eyad Allawi vowed on Monday to keep the doors open for parties which announced intention to boycott the elections.

He said that the elections which will be held on Sunday is not the end, rather "the beginning of a long and continuous operation which will be crowned by a constitution and an elected council which will shoulder the responsibility of developing and renovating various Iraqi institutions and boosting the society."

In another development, the united Arab front which includes Sunni, Shiite Arab parties in Karkouk decided to withdraw from the local elections after the release of a decision permiting Kurds who were previously forced out from Karkouk to vote in the same area.

For his part, the Iraqi Minister of finance Adel Abdul Mahdi expressed on Monday his fears of falsification in the elections. He indicated that there are numerous gaps in measures at the meantime. The leading figure in the Higher Council For The Islamic Revolution indicated that his list -- the United Iraqi election -- cannot go to certain areas to monitor the operations because of the security situation.

Chairman of the Iraqi Iraqi National Congress, Ahmad Chalabi, called from Basra for the formation of Southern Iraq district which is mostly inhabited by the Shiite similar to the situation in the northern part of the country where the Kurds enjoy self-rule.

During his meeting with the representatives of the civil society in the course of his election campaign within the united Iraqi coalition list, Chalabi said he calls for the formation of a southern district composed of the governorates of Basra, Maisan, and al-Nasereyah. He demanded that the next constitution for Iraq will include the same request.