Iraq's Basra Wary of Violence But Ready to Vote
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Bristling with guards, the polling station looks more like a fortress than a school, but Iraqis in this Shi'ite Muslim city say the clampdown ahead of Sunday's election day is reassuring.
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Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawar said on  Saturday he expected up to two-thirds of eligible Iraqis to  vote in Sunday's election, after earlier appearing to suggest  most would not cast their ballots.
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Mohammed Slaibi was planning to vote in Iraq's first post-Saddam Hussein election until attackers burned down the local election office.
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Iraqi candidate sets conciliatory tone as violence picks up in the nation.
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Saddam may be on trial, and polling day round the corner, but there is no end to the violence caution, compromise and a good deal of fear dog Iraqâs faltering steps toward what its American occupiers hope will become democracy after Iraqis vote six
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Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki arrived in Basra on Wednesday in a bid to stem escalating violence in the southern city.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq remains on course to hold landmark elections in January, but violence could force authorities to exclude hot spots such as the western city of Fallujah from voting, a top US general said yesterday.
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Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said  Sunday elections would be held on schedule in January despite a  surge in violence and more than a score of hostages under  threat of death from insurgents.
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BASRA, Iraq  - A few hours before four polling  stations in his city were bombed, Iraqi election official  Ibrahim Hassan Qassam had sounded quite confident about safety  and the prospect for a fair vote on Sunday.
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Iraq's elections will be legitimate if roughly half the Sunni Arab minority votes despite threats of violence, a leading politician in the Shi'ite alliance expected to dominate the polls said on Saturday.
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Most Iraqi residents of the southern city of Basra believe the presence of British troops in the region has been negative, an opinion poll for BBC television suggested Friday.
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Iraq's president said on Saturday he  expected that the majority of Iraqis would not vote in Sunday's  election, saying violence would keep them away from the polls.
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BASRA, Iraq  - Iraq's new prime minister declared   a one-month state of emergency in the city of Basra on   Wednesday, vowing to strike with an "iron fist" against gangs   and feuding Shi'ite factions threatening vital oil exports.
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Iraq's interim PM  insists  January's election will take place even if violence stops some Iraqis from voting.
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BAGHAD -- The Iraqi political campaign officially kicked off yesterday, colored by hope but tempered by violence that highlighted security concerns leading up to the national election set for Jan. 30.
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As Iraqis prepare for a democratic vote, the U.S. is still struggling to prevent insurgents from destroying it
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LONDON/BAGHDAD  - Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi  said Sunday elections would be held as planned in January  despite a surge in violence across the country.