Fraud claims may emerge after Iraqis vote

BAGHDAD, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Iraqi election officials worry there may be charges of fraud filed by candidates defeated in the polls for provincial elections Saturday.

"This talk about voter fraud will emerge due to competition," said Qasim Hassan al-Aboudi, a top election official. "We will hear much about this after the election results. The losers will impugn and talk about the integrity of the elections."

Aboudi is a member of Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission. He told reporters at a news conference in Baghdad that his commission has "secret plans" to make sure there are no accounts of voter fraud, the Iranian Press TV reported Tuesday.

IHEC Chairman Faraj al-Haydari highlighted some of those plans during a news conference last week with U.N. special envoy to Iraq Staffan de Mistura.

"On Jan. 31, we will see an election that for the first time will have voters allocated to specific polling stations," said Haydari.

Registration lists will include only one reference to each registered voter at his or her polling station in an effort to reduce fraud as well.

There are roughly 14,400 candidates campaigning for 440 seats in 14 of the 18 provinces in Iraq. The elections for Iraqi military personnel begin Wednesday, with the public heading to the polls Saturday.