Iraqi election officials defied a new upsurge of violence and held a televised lottery on Tuesday to determine the order in which more than 200 parties would appear on ballot papers at December 15 elections. In a goodwill gesture for Eid, 500 prisoners were released from Abu Ghraib jail after being presented with a Koran and $25. In the run-up to an election to choose the first full four-year Parliament since the fall of Saddam Hussein, parties were hoping for a low number in the ballot, which would put their name near the top of the list, or something distinctive that would catch the attention of voters. The highly theatrical public display of election transparency in the new Iraq came a day after a car bomb killed 20 people and wounded dozens in its southern heartland in the city of Basra.