White House Expects Imperfect Iraq Vote

WASHINGTON – The White House sought Wednesday to lower expectations for Iraq’s elections, suggesting that there could be little or no voting in the most unstable provinces and that polling is likely to be disrupted in places by violence.

“The election is not going to be perfect,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. “This is the first time Iraqis will be able to freely choose their leaders. It’s for a transitional government, and it’s one of three elections that will take place over the course of this year.”

Separately, Secretary of State Colin Powell said American troops will begin leaving this year as the Iraqi army, national guard and police force take on a larger security role.

“But I cannot give you a timeline when they will all be home,” Powell said in an interview with National Public Radio that was released by the State Department on Wednesday.

There are about 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, many of them under fire, and casualties have been mounting.

Powell ruled out any U.S. move to postpone the elections scheduled for Jan. 30 in Iraq.

The election carries large stakes for President Bush. With the war a central focus of his presidency, Bush has steadfastly refused to delay the elections and repeatedly promised they will be a key turning point for Iraqis. But insurgents have launched an escalating campaign of violence that is taking its toll, both in U.S. military casualties and in increased risks for Iraqi voters and candidates. Some Sunni factions also are mounting a boycott.

The U.S. military’s ground forces commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz, has said that while most of Iraq’s 18 provinces are secure enough for the elections to proceed, security remains poor in four provinces. Those provinces – Nineveh, Anbar, Salahadin and Baghdad – are home to about 25 percent of Iraq’s population.

McClellan said coalition forces and the Iraqi government are “working to address those ongoing security challenges.”

“We want to make sure that there’s as broad a participation as possible in those elections,” he said. One idea being considered is to let people who are prevented from voting by violence to vote later.

White House officials said that while there has been little preparation for the vote in Anbar province and part of Nineveh province, there remains some hope that ballots can be distributed, voting lists drawn and polling places set up by Jan. 30.

One provision that may help overcome logistical challenges and encourage turnout in troubled provinces is to allow people in those parts of the country to vote anywhere they like, rather than only at a specified polling place, officials suggested. However, that will be of little help if there are few polling places where they can go.

Further, the administration acknowledged that no mechanism has been devised yet to prevent fraud such as multiple voting.

In Iraq, 14 million of Iraq’s 26 million people have so far registered to vote, according to the White House. There are 111 political parties and other entities competing for shares of representation in the 275-member National Assembly. The results of the Jan. 30 election are not to be announced until around Feb. 15.

Absentee balloting by mail will not be permitted. But there will be provisions for overseas voting in 14 countries, including Iran and the United States, that have the largest Iraqi expatriate populations, State Department spokesman Michael Kozak said Thursday. About 1 million are eligible to vote worldwide, he said.

—

AP Diplomatic Writer Barry Schweid contributed to this report.