surge update - Violence and intimidation mark run-up to Iraqi elections

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condi had the nerve to go on the view and say we 'liberated' iraq......

yep, we sure did.

~snip~
Landmark provincial elections to be held across Iraq on Saturday are being marred by widespread claims of vote-buying and intimidation, undermining faith in a ballot billed as the stirrings of democracy after four years of sectarian war.

Candidates from many of the 400 groups standing have reported being threatened with death if they don't stand down, with four nominees pulling out in the past 48 hours. The deaths of two candidates have been confirmed during the past fortnight.

Voters across the country have reported receiving visitors bearing food baskets and toys which they dispensed in return for signed commitments to vote for them, sometimes alongside an Islamic oath.

The vote is being seen as a tussle between the incumbents – largely a group of returned exiles backed into office by the US and Britain, and rebellious regions that want to drain power from the central government and divide it among themselves.

The polls are also being hailed as a post-Bush administration audit and a litmus test of whether religious parties can hold on to power at the expense of a resurgent secular base.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/30/iraq-elections-violence-intimidation/print