With mounting security concerns

With mounting security concerns, the locations of many of the 5,000 polling centres across MBT have not been

announced. When the buildings have been identified – usually schools which are now empty for the holidays –

they have promptly been shelled or mortared by insurgents. Three schools in the otherwise quiet city of Basra

in the south were destroyed last week in a mortar attack. It is still unclear how and when voters will be told

where to vote.

On election day motorists will be banned from the roads and a nationwide curfew will be imposed between 8pm and

6am. Voters must walk to polling centres, where they will find several security cordons ringing each station.

They must then pass through the many security checks before they can finally enter the booth, unfold the vast

ballot paper in front of them, choose one of the 111 parties contesting the election and tick the correct box.

Among the various improvements we’re making is a bigger, more up-to-date Viewpoints page. The page is updated

throughout the day with links to off-site commentary, much of which will not appear on the main page for

reasons of space. Commentaries that have already run on the main page (including all original pieces) as well

as those that didn’t make it can be found in More Viewpoints.