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Baghdad: The government announced on Sunday that it will close all borders, extend curfew hours and ban travel across provincial borders as part of stringent security measures to protect voters during this week's parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, assailants blew up an electoral centre on Sunday in a town 20km south of Samarra and opened fire on a political party office in Mosul, wounding three, police said. In Najaf, the country's leading Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, urged followers to turn out in large numbers for the Thursday balloting, in which voters will choose a 275-member parliament. But Al Sistani stopped short of openly endorsing the coalition of religious Shiite parties which swept the largest number of seats in the January election.
The Interior Ministry said the emergency measures will take effect early on Tuesday and last until Saturday morning. The nighttime curfew will be extended by three hours, all international borders and airports will be closed and travel across provincial boundaries will be banned. Additional forces have been sent to Ramadi and other insurgent trouble-spots to bolster security, the ministry said. "We are very prepared for the elections and we are highly determined," Interior Minister Bayan Jabr told reporters. Voting will begin Monday in military camps, hospitals and prisons for inmates who have not been convicted of any offences. Iraqis living outside the country can vote starting Tuesday at special centres in 15 countries.
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