.Iraq PM urges big poll turnout despite violence
BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki appealed on Friday for a big turnout in next week's provincial elections as the gunning down of a Sunni family of nine highlighted the fragile security situation.
Maliki urged voters to go to the polls in large numbers, saying the ballot represented their best chance of securing a safe and stable future amid continued violence almost six years after the US-led ouster of Saddam Hussein.
The January 31 provincial elections are seen as a crucial step in helping to secure Iraq's stability amid simmering unrest, a problem underscored by the killing of the Sunni Arab family in Diyala province north of the capital.
"Your participation in the election is the price you pay for keeping freedom in this country," Maliki said, appealing to Iraqis not to sabotage the ballot.
"Some want to influence and put pressure on these elections -- like buying and selling of votes.
"You know that this is haram (forbidden) as mentioned by the esteemed marjaiya (the leading Shiite Muslim clerics)," the Shiite premier added, expressing hope of a turnout of between 70 and 80 percent.
The fledgling nature of progress in Iraq however was brought home by the Diyala attack which took place in the town of Balad Ruz, 25 kilometres (15 miles) south of the provincial capital Baquba, a police officer told AFP.
"Nine members of one family have been killed for an unknown reason," he said, listing those shot dead as six women, a child and two men.
He said that the family had only recently returned to Balad Ruz after taking refuge in Baquba from the communal violence which swept Iraq, and Diyala province in particular, in the aftermath of the US-led invasion.
With the help of the United Nations, Iraq's Independent High Election Commission, is organising the elections in 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces -- the first vote in the country since 2005.
Iraq's Sunni Arab former elite largely boycotted the provincial polls four years ago but they are contesting this month's ballot in large numbers.
Candidates affiliated with Maliki are likely to win the elections, according to a poll published here Wednesday by the government-sponsored Centre for National Media.
A cleric from the Shiite radical movement of Moqtada al-Sadr -- which is not presenting its own candidates -- nevertheless used the main weekly Muslim prayers to urge people to vote for candidates it approves of.
"Leaving the ballot paper empty means that other powers will forge it for their own benefit. Therefore, you must participate," Dhiaa al-Shawki said in his sermon in the Sadr stronghold of Kufa, south of the capital.
In the shrine city of Karbala, Sheikh Ahmed al-Safi, representative of Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, denounced the "vile practice" by some candidates of inviting voters to a feast.
He charged that some candidates had abused the mausoleum of Imam Abbas, one of Shiite Islam's most revered figures, to extract promises of endorsement from voters.
Security in Iraq has improved dramatically over the past year, although attacks still happen regularly in Baghdad and provinces such as Diyala and Nineveh, where Al-Qaeda linked insurgents remain active.
The issue has swung into focus in recent days following the inauguration of US President Barack Obama, who wants to redeploy large numbers of American troops to Afghanistan.
However Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said there would be no rapid US withdrawal.
"We have been reassured that... he (Obama) will not take any drastic decision... that any decision will be taken through consultations with the military commanders in the field and the Iraqi government," Zebari told reporters in Ankara after talks with his Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan.
Under an agreement signed between Washington and Baghdad in November, the US military is due to withdraw combat soldiers from Iraq by the end of 2011.
AFP
Maliki urged voters to go to the polls in large numbers, saying the ballot represented their best chance of securing a safe and stable future amid continued violence almost six years after the US-led ouster of Saddam Hussein.
The January 31 provincial elections are seen as a crucial step in helping to secure Iraq's stability amid simmering unrest, a problem underscored by the killing of the Sunni Arab family in Diyala province north of the capital.
"Your participation in the election is the price you pay for keeping freedom in this country," Maliki said, appealing to Iraqis not to sabotage the ballot.
"Some want to influence and put pressure on these elections -- like buying and selling of votes.
"You know that this is haram (forbidden) as mentioned by the esteemed marjaiya (the leading Shiite Muslim clerics)," the Shiite premier added, expressing hope of a turnout of between 70 and 80 percent.
The fledgling nature of progress in Iraq however was brought home by the Diyala attack which took place in the town of Balad Ruz, 25 kilometres (15 miles) south of the provincial capital Baquba, a police officer told AFP.
"Nine members of one family have been killed for an unknown reason," he said, listing those shot dead as six women, a child and two men.
He said that the family had only recently returned to Balad Ruz after taking refuge in Baquba from the communal violence which swept Iraq, and Diyala province in particular, in the aftermath of the US-led invasion.
With the help of the United Nations, Iraq's Independent High Election Commission, is organising the elections in 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces -- the first vote in the country since 2005.
Iraq's Sunni Arab former elite largely boycotted the provincial polls four years ago but they are contesting this month's ballot in large numbers.
Candidates affiliated with Maliki are likely to win the elections, according to a poll published here Wednesday by the government-sponsored Centre for National Media.
A cleric from the Shiite radical movement of Moqtada al-Sadr -- which is not presenting its own candidates -- nevertheless used the main weekly Muslim prayers to urge people to vote for candidates it approves of.
"Leaving the ballot paper empty means that other powers will forge it for their own benefit. Therefore, you must participate," Dhiaa al-Shawki said in his sermon in the Sadr stronghold of Kufa, south of the capital.
In the shrine city of Karbala, Sheikh Ahmed al-Safi, representative of Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, denounced the "vile practice" by some candidates of inviting voters to a feast.
He charged that some candidates had abused the mausoleum of Imam Abbas, one of Shiite Islam's most revered figures, to extract promises of endorsement from voters.
Security in Iraq has improved dramatically over the past year, although attacks still happen regularly in Baghdad and provinces such as Diyala and Nineveh, where Al-Qaeda linked insurgents remain active.
The issue has swung into focus in recent days following the inauguration of US President Barack Obama, who wants to redeploy large numbers of American troops to Afghanistan.
However Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said there would be no rapid US withdrawal.
"We have been reassured that... he (Obama) will not take any drastic decision... that any decision will be taken through consultations with the military commanders in the field and the Iraqi government," Zebari told reporters in Ankara after talks with his Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan.
Under an agreement signed between Washington and Baghdad in November, the US military is due to withdraw combat soldiers from Iraq by the end of 2011.
AFP
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