IHEC: Elections postponed in Nineveh and Anbar only
to the north and west of Baghdad.
An official source said that the Council of Ministers informed IHEC “postponing the elections in all the provinces, but retreated after only hour and revealed postponing the elections in Nineveh and Anbar only".
He added that COM - until the moment of publishing the news - has not sent an official letter about the postponement to IHEC.
The latest provincial elections in Iraq were held on January 31, 2009. The local elections are due to be held every four years, according to the Iraqi constitution.
The reasons behind the postponement attributed to the fear of targeting electoral employee in these two provinces due to the instability and public anger towards government policies against Sunni people.
Demonstrations broke out in the Iraqi western province of Anbar after the move made by the government against the Finance Minister Rafi al-Issawi –a Sunni- when his bodyguards arrested on terrorism charges.
Later protests spread to the other Sunni areas including Ninenveh, Diyala, Salahuddin and Kirkuk as well as some parts of Baghdad where people demand a change of government policies towards them.
Shafaq News
