Iraq’s most feared militant group has stepped up its attempts to disrupt the country’s first democratic elections by sending letters to the authorities warning it will kill anyone involved in administering the January poll.
The group, led by the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has delivered the letters to the Mosul and Baghdad offices of the Independent Electoral Commission.
“The members of the [commission] and anyone associated with fraudulent democracy will feel the sword of righteousness on their necks,” the group says in one of the typewritten letters shown to British paper The Guardian.
The Zarqawi group, formerly known as Tawhid and Jihad, changed its name last weekend to al-Qaeda Iraq, and declared loyalty to Osama bin Laden. It has claimed responsibility for a wave of suicide bombings and hostage-takings, including the murder of the British engineer Kenneth Bigley.
Security in the run-up to the elections remains the chief concern for the authorities amid a ferocious bombing and kidnapping campaign by insurgents. Joint military operations are under way to break the hold of Sunni militants in areas south, north and west of Baghdad so that elections can take place. The threats from the militants come on the eve of nationwide voter registration, in which as many as 14-million Iraqis could sign up to vote.
From Monday, about 6 000 election workers will staff 545 registration centres in schools and municipal buildings across Iraq. But officials fear intimidation by insurgents will deter many potential voters.
A female poll worker in the trouble spot of Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, was kidnapped and killed this week.
Carlos Valenzuela, the United Nations’s chief electoral adviser in Iraq and a non-voting commission member, said: “The security of the facilities and the people are a source of concern and the subject of daily discussions between the commission and the Iraqi forces’ supported by the multinational forces.
“There have been threats to the UN for supporting the electoral process for months.
“They are taken seriously, but you have to continue your work. It is very encouraging that there have been no shortage of Iraqis wanting to work for the commission despite the risks.”
Senior Iraqi figures have expressed concern at the level of UN support in Iraq.
The Iraqi Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, has called on the UN to increase its presence in the run-up to the vote.
“We’re expecting more energy, more enthusiasm, more work,” Mr Zebari told The New York Times on Friday. “It’s the manpower, it’s how many people you have. It’s not enough. Iraq has never had elections.”
The UN has a ceiling of just 35 officials in Iraq, only eight of whom are assigned to assist in the elections.
Valenzuela said: “From the very beginning, the UN thought that Iraq didn’t require a foreign electoral authority coming in to do the work, because there is enough infrastructure, and there are enough human resources on the ground. Our role was always to provide technical assistance and for that you don’t need hundreds of people on the ground.”
“This is and should be an Iraqi-led election. The decision makers are Iraqis. This will all aid credibility.”
He said there are plans to send a further 25 advisers to Iraq within a few weeks.
Meanwhile, Interior Ministry officials have concerns about the scale of the security operation needed to safeguard about 3 000 polling stations on voting day.
“We should stop tiptoeing around on this issue,” said Sabah Khaddim, a senior adviser to the interior minister.
“We all know the elections face a substantial security threat from the terrorists, and frankly we are not able to deal with that threat on our own. We need help from our neighbours and the international community. We are facing a big deficit in manpower and equipment.”
Despite the security problems, the commission’s chief electoral officer, Adel al-Ami, said meeting the January poll deadline is still possible.
“It is a race against time, but the technical preparations are on schedule. If the elections don’t take place then, it will not be because we are not ready.”
Iraqis will elect a 275-seat assembly, mainly to draft a permanent Constitution. If adopted, the document will be the foundation for a second vote before December 15 2005. — Guardian Unlimited Â