BAGHDAD, 25 December 2004 — The Iraqi Independant Election Commission is to employ around 200,000 employees in around 6,500 electoral centers across the country during January’s national elections, a commission official said yesterday. “The employees are being trained, some outside of the country, to deal with voters during the election day,” Adel Al-Lamy, a member of the commission said.
The commission has decided to use a “special ink” to prevent voters from voting more than once, he added. Commission members, said Al-Lamy, have asked the Iraqi government to take “extra safety measures” to protect commission employees after gunmen assassinated a number in the last few days.
Around 7,200 nominees representing 98 political entities will compete in the Jan. 30 elections for the 275-member national assembly and provisional government members that will draft a new constitution for Iraq. The draft is to be completed by August, 2005 and general elections would be held at the end of that year.
