|
Special Report: Iran meddling in Iraq elections, Diyala-2 |
|
|
|
|
Friday, 16 December 2005 |
 Iran Focus
Baghdad– Iraq’s Interior Ministry, already under a barrage of
allegations of running secret torture chambers managed by agents of
Iran’s intelligence services, was on Friday reported to have prevented
Sunni voters from participating in Thursday’s parliamentary elections
in the key province of Diyala, Iran Focus has learnt.
The Iraqi Interior Minister Jabr Bayan, a senior official in the
Iran-backed Shiite Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq
(SCIRI) is widely believed to have direct links to Tehran’s
Revolutionary Guards. Based in Iran for two decades before the United
States-led war that toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, SCIRI’s
military wing, the Badr Brigade, were involved in a violent cross
border struggle against Iraqi forces.
In the Sunni town of al-Khalis members of the Badr Brigade removed the
names of several Sunni Arab lists at the polling stations, according to
an official who requested anonymity.
“They were telling the people that they had to vote for the United
[Iraqi] Alliance list”, the official, reached by telephone, said.
Iran has been actively helping the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), led by
its long-time ally, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the Shiite cleric who heads
SCIRI.
The official said that police sources had confirmed the confiscation of
a number of ballot boxes filled with forged ballots in favour of list
“555”, which represents the UIA, in several of the polling stations.
A number of voting booths in areas where people were expected to vote
for groups opposed to Iran’s ruling theocracy lacked sufficient ballot
boxes for people to cast their votes. In one booth, only two of the 20
ballot boxes were made available.
There were several protests by Sunnis who were angry at the
preventative measures taken against them reported in and around the
city. Several polling stations were initially closed by officials of
the Interior Ministry and later forced to be opened after
demonstrations by Iraqis seeking to vote grew more intense. |
