Iraqi elections official fears fair vote in jeopardy

Iraqi security forces loyal to the Shiite-led government are raiding voter registration centers and taking other steps to discourage participation in upcoming elections, says the head of Iraq's voting regulatory agency. The recent incidents have raised concerns about the fairness of the election, which could take place early next year. A drive to register new voters is slated to end next week. However, only about 1 million people had registered as of Aug. 13, a low turnout due partly to voter intimidation, according to Iraq's High Elections Commission. "There are people who don't want these elections and the security forces are collaborating with these people in some places," said Faraj al-Haydari, the commission's chairman. Opposition politicians such as Ali Hatem, a leader of a group of former insurgents known as the Sunni Awakening, accuse ruling parties of trying to sabotage the elections because they fear losing power. Iraqi Army troops raided a registration center in the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City and demanded a list of names and addresses of voters, al-Haydari said. The incident was confirmed by Iraqi Gen. Aiden Qader, the ministry of interior official responsible for election security. Similar tactics have repeatedly occurred at another registration center in the Sunni-dominated city of Mada'in east of Baghdad, according to Mohammad al-Qinani, president of the Ayn Election Monitoring Network. His non-profit organization monitors 152 registration centers around the country. Iraqi troops have either removed, or allowed others to destroy, a large percentage of the 2 million posters distributed nationwide to publicize the registration effort, al-Haydari said. "We put up posters next to [security] checkpoints and the next day they're gone," he said. "The people don't know that they're supposed to register."