Iraqis fear the elections would establish occupation of their oil-rich country

By Hatem Shebly & Saleh Amer, IOL Correspondents 

MOSUL, November 26 (IslamOnline.net) – The state in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul is no less than precarious ahead of the expected January 30 general elections.

The main polling center in the city was torched, some groups call for boycotting or postponing the vote as long as the country remains occupied and armed groups have sent clear warnings that anything related to the vote would be a target.

"I look forward to taking part in the elections, but I will never do with deteriorating security and ongoing threats to target the whole electoral process," said Saad Ahmad, a 55-year-old resident.

Many others share the same feelings of desperation in Mosul, as armed groups are reportedly seizing control of the city _ the third largest in Iraq after Baghdad and Mosul.

The Iraqi government is losing ground among ordinary Iraqis in Mosul, especially as they feel their lives are endangered several months since the beginning of US occupation.

The US military said on Friday, November 26, that 13 more bodies in and around Mosul were found, bringing to 35 the number of corpses discovered in the past week in the area shaken by violence.

Boycott it 

Several groups in Mosul have raised calls for boycotting elections, saying they would establish occupation of Iraq _ which has the world's second largest oil reserves.

A statement undersigned by 40 Sunni officials and Sheikhs called a few days ago for not taking part in the polls, saying the move does not serve the inspirations for a liberated Iraq. 

The office of the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) _ the largest Sunni authority in Iraq _ in Mosul joined the boycott appeals to protest against the massive US military assault on Fallujah.

The western Baghdad city, originally populated by 300,000, came under more than two weeks of shelling by occupation forces, raising concerns of international human rights over apocalyptic scenes of a grave humanitarian crisis there.

The calls appear to resonate powerfully with people here.

"Those who fight against occupation forces should have a say. If they ask me to boycott the vote, I will do it," said Abu Ibrahim, 29.

Moawaq Ahmad, 67, concurred: "I think it is rather an attempt to fill in the vacuum with individuals whom I believe would only seek to serve the Americans' agenda here."

In a country occupied for more one year now, such feelings appear by no means strange. No weapons of mass destruction _ the main justification Washington had used to make the case for the Iraq invasion _ have been found so far, raising fears the offensive was based on false pretexts.

The Iraqi Islamic Party and seven smaller groups, mainly representing Sunni Arabs, called for voting to be put off until emergency laws imposed after the US occupation are lifted to hold atmosphere conducive to the vote.

Iraq's electoral commission extended until next Thursday the deadline for registering political parties in the violence -riddled provinces of Salaheddin, Anbar and Mosul to give local politicians time to meet the registration requirement.

However, some smaller secular parties call for people to move out for casting ballots, but the appeal found little public attention amid seething anger over the dominating precarious state.

Warnings

Armed groups also warned Mosul inhabitants against participating in elections. The warnings were splashed out on walls of mosques seeking to chase away would-be voters.

"The voter would be deemed infidel, as he or she would help pick a ruler succumbing to the occupiers," read one of these posters, threatening to attack polling stations.

The warnings have coincided with the torching of the main polling station in Mosul on November 19.

Election officials also received death threats, a move which has reportedly stalled preparations for the vote in the northern city.

Mosul recently saw an upsurge in violence where fighters also overpowered police then looted and burned some police stations.

No Campaigns  

While cities in southern cities _ predominantly inhabited by Shiites _ are full of placards on campaigns of the candidates joining the race, the scene is completely different in Mosul.

"Even if I decide to take part in the election, I don't know whom I would vote for," said Ahmad Hassan, a 41-year-old engineer.

Hassan complained that no posters were ever seen on the streets allowing him to have an idea of the platforms of slates running for the vote.

Electoral officials acknowledge that it is hard for them to conduct voter education campaigns there.

Some political parties also complain that poor security and a general atmosphere of intimidation in Mosul are preventing them from informing the public about the vote or recruiting candidates.

However, Harith Adib, an expert on the constitutional law, said elections would go ahead nationwide anyway, regardless of how many people would cast their ballots or boycotting the polls.

"The current election law does not set a specific number for the electorate, which means the vote could be held with 20 per cent participation," Adib said.

However, he believes that the fair representation of all parties in the election and higher number of voters is necessary a step for the voting process to enjoy credibility.

Iraq's Electoral Commission set national elections for January 30, although many Iraqi politicians said that ballots could not be cast nationwide with some areas now wracked by violence.