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Iraqi
minister
warns
of
election
fraud
The
US
ambassador
to
Iraq
and
the
interim
finance
minister
have both
expressed
doubt
about
the
forthcoming
elections,
saying
they
could
be
marred
by
irregularities
and
security
problems.
Iraqi
Finance
Minister
Adil
Abd
al-Mahdi,
a
leading
candidate
on
the
front-running
Shia
Muslim
list
for
the
30 January
elections,
has
said he
feared
the
milestone
polls
could
be
marred
by
fraud. He
also
warned
on
Monday that
the
dire
security
situation
could
prevent
observers
being
sent
to
polling
stations
nationwide
for
the
vote,
being
hailed
as
the
first
free
and
fair
elections
in
half
a
century. Police
in
the
holy
Iraqi
city
of
Najaf
on
Monday
announced
a
special
security
plan
for
the
January
30
elections,
banning
all
non-residents
for
a
five-day
period. "The
interior
ministry
has
announced
a
three-day
security
plan
for
the
elections.
Here
in
Najaf,
we
are
implementing
a
plan
over
five
days,"
police
chief
Ghalib
al-Jazairi
said. US
envoy
Negroponte
says
there "One
of
the
main
points
is
that
we
will
ask
all
the
people
who
are
not
from
Najaf
to
leave
the
city
for
the
elections.
Those
who
stay
will
be
arrested
and
treated
as
terrorist
suspects." Security
problems The
US
ambassador
to
Iraq, John
Negroponte,
acknowledged
serious
problems
in
advance
of
next
weekend's
election
but
offered
assurances
that
"great
efforts"
were
being
made
so
every
Iraqi
can
vote. In
a
series
of
interviews
on
Sunday
on US
television
talk
shows,
Negroponte
acknowledged
an
increase
in
intimidation
of
Iraqi
officials
and
security
forces
and
said
serious
security
problems
remain
in "the
Sunni
Triangle" north
and
west
of
Baghdad. "But
security
measures
are
being
taken,
by
both
the
multinational
forces
here
in
Iraq
as
well
as
the
Iraqi
armed
forces
and
police,"
Negroponte
told
Fox
News
Sunday. "There
will
be
some
problematic
areas
...
. But
even
there,
great
efforts
are
being
made
to
enable
every
Iraqi
eligible
to
do
so
to
be
able
to
vote."
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