Ballot box storage site catches fire
BAGHDAD: A storage site housing half of Baghdad’s ballot boxes from Iraq’s parliamentary election in May caught fire yesterday, just days after parliament demanded a nationwide recount of votes, drawing calls for the election to be re-run.
Prime Minister Haider alAbadi described the fire as a “plot” aimed at Iraq’s democracy.
The timing of the fire undermined the results of an election whose validity was already in doubt. Fewer than 45% of voters cast a ballot, a record low, and allegations of fraud began almost immediately after the vote.
“Burning election warehouses ... is a plot to harm the nation and its democracy. We will take all necessary measures and strike with an iron fist all who undermine the security of the nation and its citizens,” Abadi said.
Experts would conduct an investigation and prepare a detailed report on how the fire started, he said.
An Interior Ministry spokesperson said the fire was confined to one of four warehouses at the site. State television said ballot boxes were moved to another location under heavy security.
Interior Minister Qasim al-Araji later told a local tele- vision channel that “not a single box was burned.”
Abadi, whose electoral alliance came third in the election, had said on Tuesday that a government investigation had found serious violations and blamed Iraq’s independent elections commission for most of them.
Parliament mandated a full manual recount the next day. The Independent High Elections Commission had used electronic vote-counting devices to tally the results.
A recount could undermine nationalist cleric Moqtada alSadr, a long-time adversary of the US whose bloc won the largest number of seats in the election. One of Sadr’s top aides expressed concern that some parties were trying to sabotage the cleric’s victory.
Salim al-Jabouri, the outgoing speaker of parliament, said the fire showed the election should be repeated.
“The crime of burning ballot-box storage warehouses is a deliberate act aimed at hiding instances of fraud and manipulation of votes,” he said. – Reuters/African News Agency (ANA)