Iraq Sets Election Despite Fresh Violence

Iraqi authorities set Jan. 30 as the date for the nation's first election since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship and pledged that voting would take place throughout the country despite rising violence and calls by Sunni clerics for a boycott. Farid Ayar, spokesman of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (news - web sites), said voting would push ahead even in areas still wracked by violence -- including Fallujah, Mosul and other parts of the volatile Sunni Triangle. The vote for the 275-member National Assembly is seen as a major step toward building democracy after years of Saddam's tyranny. But the violence, which has escalated this month with the U.S.-led offensive against Fallujah, has raised fears voting will be nearly impossible in insurgency-torn regions -- or that Sunni Arabs, angry at the U.S.-Iraqi crackdown, will reject the election. If either takes place, it could undermine the vote's legitimacy. Ayar insisted that "no Iraqi province will be excluded because the law considers Iraq as one constituency, and therefore it is not legal to exclude any province." To bolster Iraq's democracy, 19 creditor nations -- including the United States, Japan, Russia and many in Europe -- agreed Sunday to write off 80 percent of the $38.9 billion that Iraq owes them. U.S. and Iraqi troops have been clearing the last of the resistance from Fallujah, the main rebel bastion stormed Nov. 8 in hopes of breaking the back of the insurgency before the election. [more]

• Iraqi officials call for delay of January election [more]

• Iraqi groups call for election boycott [more]
  
• 47 parties boycott elections in Iraq [more]
  
• Militant groups control 60 percent of Fallujah: witnesses [more]
• Threats Delay Vote Preparations in Mosul. Death threats have chased away four elections officials in Mosul, stalling preparations for the vote in the northern city. Insurgents have torched election materials and a militant group believed to operate in Mosul has warned Iraqis not to participate in the election. [more]