5/4/2018
The Iraqi government has finalized the security plan for the legislative elections scheduled for May 12, in the hope that it will start work on Saturday.
Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Saad Maan said in a press conference held in Baghdad: "The security plan for the elections has been completed." The plan was drawn up under the supervisionof a supreme security committee, affiliated with the security and intelligence agencies.
"The security plan for the elections will be launched on Saturday," he said.
"The readiness of the security forces in charge of securing the elections," he said, stressing that "the air force and the air of the Iraqi army will be ready to provide protection for the electoral process."
In late April, a meeting was held in Baghdad with a number of operational leaders and military and security commanders, including the Irbil police chief and the Electoral Commission.
The meeting, according to a source familiar with «Al-Quds Al-Arabi», «to establish a joint currency mechanism between the security forces charged with protecting the elections, and the Commission». According to the source, «the meeting saw the finalization of the security plan for the legislative elections, both in the capital Baghdad or in other provinces».
He added: «Operations leaders have shown their full readiness to secure the electoral process, after conducting a series of exercises and simulations ahead of the date of the special (on May 10 for the security forces) and the general on the 12 of the same month, in cooperation with the offices of the Independent Electoral Commission in the provinces».
He pointed out to the «Army Chief of Staff directed in late April, all the leaders and associates of the importance of maintaining independence and professionalism in dealing with the legislative elections, and also the need for security forces to receive their electoral cards and participate in the special vote».
An insecure environment
With the imminent implementation of the security plan for the legislative elections, revealed the security expert retired Major General Abdul Karim Khalaf, the difficulty of providing protection for all candidates, pointing out that «the environment of the election is not safe».
He said in a statement quoted by the official website of the Kurdistan Democratic Party that "there is a difficulty in providing protection to all candidates in large numbers." He explained that "the candidate does not have personal protection, but in the event of a security obsession with the candidate must inform the security authorities to provide protection."
On the security plan on the day of the vote and the extent of its success, he confirmed «the existence of three security hoops around the polling stations, including 56 thousand sites, pointing out that the security services will prevent the wheels in the areas of polling stations, except for the security authorities or authorized bodies».
He pointed out that «all security ministries will enter the warning C (maximum degree)», pointing to «provide air protection through the Federal Air Force, especially centers that may be threatened».
Researcher Hashim al-Hashemi, the expert on armed groups, also explained that «the electoral environment in Iraq can not be classified as a green environment, but it is concerned. Security is unstable ».
He added: «the ongoing election campaigns have witnessed so far, 9 assassination attempts (long candidates)», noting that «the Islamic state organization has not announced adoption of those operations».
He continued: «Operations are subject to the system of competition and electoral and regional conflict and even partisan and sectarian», stressing that «violations are the highest compared to the years 2005, 2010 and 2014».
Revealed the decision of the Committee on Security and Defense parliamentary, Abdel Aziz Hassan, the involvement of political parties participating in the parliamentary elections, the assassination of candidates in the electoral lists competing. He told «Al-Maaloumah» that «a number of political parties participating in the electoral race behind the assassinations that affected the candidates in recent times», pointing out that «the said authorities exploit the influence of the state and the power of arms in blackmailing candidates».
According to the source «the phenomenon of assassination of candidates evidence of the electoral conflict between the political blocs», calling: «the Electoral Commission to take punitive measures against those who seek to create chaos and destroy the democratic process in the country».
And the Iraqi legislative elections 2018, the first after the declaration of completion «militarily» of the battle to eliminate the organization of «Islamic State» in Iraq, and the second since the US withdrawal from Iraq in 2011. According to official statistics, 7 thousand and 187 candidates in 188 parties and 27 electoral alliances, Will compete in 18 provinces to get 328 seats in parliament, with more than 24 million eligible voters in the country.
Conditional monitoring
The IHEC, for its part, announced the registration of 25 international and local organizations to monitor the legislative elections.
A member of the Commission, Saeed Kakaai, said in a joint press conference with the head of the Commission in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Mazen Abdul Qadir, on Thursday, in Erbil, that «the Commission has been able to register 14 electoral monitoring organizations in the federal capital Baghdad».
He added that «the Commission has also registered 11 other regulatory organizations in the Kurdistan region», noting that «these organizations are absolutely free to monitor the electoral process throughout Iraq».
Kakai said that «the ninth of this month, will be the last date for the registration of regulatory organizations, noting that these organizations will prepare reports on the electoral process», adding that the Commission "required the organizations to hand over copies of those reports before publication to diagnose violations and deal with them» . According to him.
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