Home>News Center>World
         
 

Iraq parliament voting starts Monday morning
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-12 08:29

This time, more Sunni Arab candidates are in the race, and changes in the election law to allocate most seats by province instead of based on a party's nationwide total all but guaranteed a sizable Sunni bloc in the next assembly.

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad urged all Iraqis to vote.

"We need more cross-sectarian and cross-ethnic coalitions that are issue-oriented," he told reporters Sunday in Sulaimaniyah. "We need a government that brings Iraqis together."

Khalilzad expressed hope "there will be more Sunni participation and that the turnout should be quite high." Turnout in January was about 58 percent but less than 5 percent in the predominantly Sunni province of Anbar, a hotbed of insurgency.

U.S. officials hope that a big Sunni turnout and a strong Sunni bloc in the new parliament will help curb the violence so the United States and its coalition partners can begin drawing down their forces in 2006.

An American soldier was killed Sunday by a roadside bomb in Baghdad, the U.S. command said. That brought to at least 2,142 the number of U.S. military members who have died since the war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

During an appearance Sunday on CNN's "Late Edition," Khalilzad held out hope that the election would be a turning point, saying "conditions are moving in a direction that can allow a significant decrease in the size of the American forces starting next year."

Speaking via video link on Germany political talk show ARD, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said he expected a "big number" of people to cast ballots.

"The Iraqi people won't let themselves be frightened off by the threats of terrorists. They are determined to vote," Talabani said in comments dubbed into German.

Even with a big Sunni vote, Shiites are expected to win the biggest share of parliamentary seats. Shiites form an estimated 60 percent of Iraq's 27 million people compared to 20 percent for the Sunni Arabs.

On Sunday, Iraq's leading Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a binding religious decree, or fatwa, instructing followers to vote for candidates "who can be trusted to protect their principles and safeguard their interests."

That appeared to be a veiled endorsement of the United Iraqi Alliance, a coalition of Shiite religious parties that dominates the current government.

Al-Sistani also urged Shiites to avoid "splitting the vote and risking its waste" 錕斤拷 an admonition apparently directed against former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite running on a ticket with several prominent Sunnis.

Some Sunni religious extremists, including al-Qaida in Iraq, have warned Iraqis against voting. But most insurgent groups have avoided threats of violence that helped keep Sunni turnout low in January.

The hard-line Sunni clerical group, the Association of Muslim Scholars, which was at the forefront of the January boycott call, has said voting was an individual choice.

Nevertheless, thousands of Iraqi forces will be mustered to protect polling stations, with U.S. and other coalition troops ready to help in the event of a major attack.

Starting at midnight Monday, all borders and airports will be closed and travel across provincial boundaries will be banned until Saturday morning. Private vehicles also were expected to be ordered off the street on election day to prevent car bombs.

Separately, Iraqi and British officials said Sunday they had no word on the fate of four Christian peace activists, more than a day after the expiration of a deadline set by kidnappers to kill them if all prisoners weren't released.


Page: 12



Fuel depot explodes in north London
US airliner skids off snowy runway
Vanuatu volcano bursts into life
 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

China denounces US criticism of human rights

 

   
 

Koizumi shrine visit blasted as leaders meet

 

   
 

Premier's focus: East Asia harmony

 

   
 

Singh: India, China not rivals

 

   
 

US probes into dodgy donations to China

 

   
 

Iraq closing borders ahead of voting

 

   
  Putin flies to Asian summit to win place for Russia
   
  Iran invites US to bid on power plant
   
  Four US troops die in separate Iraq attacks
   
  Ugly battles strain Berlin-Hamburg relations
   
  Egypt: 26 percent turnout in elections
   
  Iraq hostages' Kin wait as deadline passes
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
Manufacturers, Exporters, Wholesalers - Global trade starts here.
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产高清天干天天美女| 最好看的2019中文无字幕 | 亚欧洲乱码专区视频| 粗大猛烈进出高潮视频大全| 国产精品久久久久久麻豆一区 | 深夜福利gif动态图158期| 国产丰满老熟女重口对白| 在线观看永久免费| 女人被男人狂躁免费视频| 久久国产精品免费一区| 欧美成人在线免费观看| 免费高清在线爱做视频| 荡女安然的yin乱生活| 国产精品91视频| a在线观看网站| 成年人在线播放| 久久精品无码专区免费青青| 欧美最猛性xxxxx69交| 免费人成无码大片在线观看| 色噜噜狠狠一区二区三区| 国产成人精品一区二区三区无码| 91大神福利视频| 好吊妞欧美视频免费| 中文字幕在线免费观看| 日韩精品视频观看| 亚洲国产欧美在线人成北岛玲 | 波多野结衣伦理片bd高清在线| 又大又黄又粗又爽视频| 青青青手机视频在线观看| 国产精品久久久久电影| 99久久亚洲精品无码毛片| 尤物久久99热国产综合| 久久18禁高潮出水呻吟娇喘| 日韩精品专区在线影院重磅| 亚洲国产成人九九综合| 波多野结衣种子网盘| 凹凸导航第一福利| 色偷偷亚洲综合网亚洲| 国产成人va亚洲电影| 大胸喷奶水的www的视频网站| 在线成人播放毛片|