Posted by
Defend America on Monday, March 08, 2010 12:47:42 PM
Iraq poll turnout tops 60 per cent despite attacks
Oliver August in Baghdad and Philippe Naughton
Turnout in yesterday's parliamentary election in Iraq reached 62.4 per cent
despite a concerted effort to intimidate voters and scare them away from
polling stations.
Hamdiyah al-Husseini, a senior official with the Independent High Electoral
Commission, released the figure at a press conference in Baghdad. The figure
is lower than the 76 per cent turnout for the the parliamentary election of
December 2005 but higher than last year's provincial elections when just
over half of voters cast ballots.
Turnout is an important measure of success for the election. To be credible
and effective, Iraq's next government will need the backing of a large
number of people in the deeply divided country.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article7053938.ece