Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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January 28, 2009

Iraqis Begin Early Voting in Provincial Elections
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=21E648F:A6F02AD83191E1600E83352CA99DFACEE55ED32ED25AB8F6&
 
Polling stations opened Wednesday for select groups of Iraqi voters,
including soldiers, police and prisoners 
Iraqis have begun early voting in provincial elections seen as a key
test of Iraq's stability. Iraqi soldiers cast their votes in the
country's provincial elections in Najaf, 28 Jan 2009Polling stations
opened Wednesday for select groups of Iraqi voters, including soldiers,
police and prisoners. Election officials say the process is going
smoothly. It is Iraq's first nationwide election since December 2005,
when the country voted for a new parliament. Fifteen million Iraqis are
eligible to vote in the main election Saturday for councils in 14 of
Iraq's 18 provinces. About 14,400 candidates are vying for 440
provincial council seats.

Security will be tight for Saturday's vote Iraqi Sunnis largely
boycotted Iraq's last provincial elections in January 2005, handing
Shi'ites and Kurds a disproportionate share of power. No such boycott is
expected this time. Iraqi authorities plan to tighten security for
Saturday's vote by banning vehicles from the streets of major cities,
closing airports and sealing Iraq's land borders. 

Militants may try to disrupt voting Iraqi and U.S. officials have warned
that militants may try to disrupt the polling by staging attacks.
Several candidates have escaped assassination attempts in recent days.
Iraq's three autonomous Kurdish regions will hold provincial elections
at a later date. Iraq's government delayed voting in a fourth province,
Kirkuk, indefinitely after ethnic groups failed to agree on a
power-sharing formula. The provincial elections also represent a
political test for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who wants to
boost the strength of his small Shi'ite faction ahead of parliamentary
elections later this year.


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