Iraq campaign fever rises as election approaches

DUBAI (Al Arabiya)

As Iraq's parliamentary elections, due to be held on March 7, draw closer, campaign fever rises pushing candidates to campaign in the most unusual ways.

In the cemeteries of Karbala and Najaf, a group of youngsters distributed posters to mourners as they stand by the graves of their loved ones crying while reading verses from the Quran.

The youngsters hand mourners candy, for the souls of the dead, along with campaign posters.

In Basra, one of the candidates wrote his cell phone number in a huge font on street walls, prompting his competitors to accuse him of trying to get women to call him.

In Karbala, another candidate rented several motorcycles and small cars to roam the streets with posters bearing his name and picture.

Many candidates illegally placed their posters in sites reserved for billboards in main roads in Baghdad. Meanwhile hundreds of other posters were stacked on the sidewalk waiting to be placed in other areas.
Al Arabiya