The leading Shiite cleric in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali Muhammad Sistani, has appointed a coordinating committee to ensure the safety, freedom and fairness of general elections, sources close to the Najaf seminary confirmed yesterday. With less than three months left to voting day on Jan. 27, 2005, the independent Iraqi election committee has registered around 65 percent of potential voters. A further 15 percent will be registered in 14 countries where Iraqis living abroad will be able to vote under an agreement signed with the United Nations in Geneva on Tuesday. The remaining 15 percent to be registered are mostly inhabitants of the so-called Sunni triangle that has witnessed weeks of insurgency.
The insurgents have killed voter registration officials in several cities in the triangle, including Fallujah, Ramadi, Haditha and Baqubah. The interim Iraqi government, backed by the US-led coalition forces, however, hopes to restore enough calm to those cities to allow would-be voters to register. One formula under study is to extend the deadline for registration in the towns affected by the insurgency. Another is to allow displaced people from the Sunni triangle to vote either in camps or in the nearest town or city rather than their original place of abode. |