Like Motherland, like son...election discrepancies in Iraq claim victim

[Career Prole]

On Juan Cole's "Informed Comment" today...
Gang Fight in Karbala over Elections
Al-Karbala'i: Voter Registration Cards Fall Short

Al-Hayat: The first victim of the electoral campaign in Iraq fell on Saturday in Karbala after a shouting match deteriorated into a knife fight between followers of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani and the cleric, Mahmud al-Husaini. Al-Husaini, who studied with Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr (father of Muqtada), opposes participating in the elections.

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According to Karbala'i, more than 5,000 families, or 100,000 citizens, did not receive their cards so far. This result, he said, suggests that a third of the residents of Karbala have been deprived of the ability to vote. He added, "We do not want to hold up the process, and we are not asserting that this matter is deliberate. But we shall wait and see what the relevant authorities, the high commission for the elections, and the United Nations, which have promised to hold free and fair elections without flaws, so that their legitimacy is unassailable." He affirmed, "If this result is the same in the central and southern provinces, it would entail depriving a third of the inhabitants of those areas of their ability to vote, and would withdraw legitimacy from the elections, a matter that would reflect negatively on their representativeness in the world community."
http://www.juancole.com/2004_11_01_juancole_archive.html#109980960138838597