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Rival ethnic groups to vote in Iraq`s first ballot
Baghdad, May 05: In the first vote in Iraq since Saddam Hussein was ousted last month, rival ethnic groups in Mosul were set to elect an interim council on Monday and a leading Iraqi Kurdish group made its voice heard in Damascus.
Baghdad, May 05: In the first vote in Iraq since Saddam Hussein was ousted last month, rival ethnic groups in Mosul were set to elect an interim council on Monday and a leading Iraqi Kurdish group made its voice heard in Damascus.
Barham Saleh of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan said on Sunday it had briefed the Syrian government on its role in efforts to form a national government in a step toward rebuilding the country's local administration.
In Mosul, US troops established a strong security presence at the community hall chosen to host the voting.
More than 200 delegates from the various ethnic and religious groups will elect a chamber of council members and then immediately choose a mayor from a list of candidates. The council will consist of three Kurds, one Christian, one Assyrian, one Turkmen and seven Arabs inside the city; along with one Yezidian, one Christian and three Muslims from tribes outside Mosul, brigade commander Colonel Joseph Anderson said.
It will include two former generals and representatives from eight government ministries: police, health, commerce, banking, education, public works, municipalities and fuel.
Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, is mainly Arab, with a large Kurdish minority as well as Turkmens, Assyrians and other groups.
The ethnic mix fueled fears of factional fighting after a wave of looting and violence last month, but military officials are now holding it up as a "model city," citing solid progress in restoring order. In Damascus, Saleh told a news conference, "We stressed that we are aspiring for the support of our brethren in Syria to back stability and security in Iraq. We informed them of our visions and discussed with them the techniques that will be followed to form an independent (Iraqi) national government."
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is one of the two Kurdish factions controlling the Kurd-majority enclave in northern Iraq. Bureau Report
In Mosul, US troops established a strong security presence at the community hall chosen to host the voting.
More than 200 delegates from the various ethnic and religious groups will elect a chamber of council members and then immediately choose a mayor from a list of candidates. The council will consist of three Kurds, one Christian, one Assyrian, one Turkmen and seven Arabs inside the city; along with one Yezidian, one Christian and three Muslims from tribes outside Mosul, brigade commander Colonel Joseph Anderson said.
It will include two former generals and representatives from eight government ministries: police, health, commerce, banking, education, public works, municipalities and fuel.
Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, is mainly Arab, with a large Kurdish minority as well as Turkmens, Assyrians and other groups.
The ethnic mix fueled fears of factional fighting after a wave of looting and violence last month, but military officials are now holding it up as a "model city," citing solid progress in restoring order. In Damascus, Saleh told a news conference, "We stressed that we are aspiring for the support of our brethren in Syria to back stability and security in Iraq. We informed them of our visions and discussed with them the techniques that will be followed to form an independent (Iraqi) national government."
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is one of the two Kurdish factions controlling the Kurd-majority enclave in northern Iraq. Bureau Report