Iraq tightens up security around ballot box warehouses

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD (AA) – Iraqi forces on Tuesday tightened up security measures around ballot box warehouses in a number of provinces.

The move comes after a huge fire broke out on Sunday in a major storage space for ballot boxes in the capital Baghdad.

“Police have deployed extra patrols around the storage space for ballot boxes in the southern Wasit province,” police chief Major-General Qasim Rashid told reporters.

Similar measures were taken in Basra, Maysan and Al-Diwaniyah in southern Iraq.

Sunday’s fire came shortly after the Iraqi parliament adopted a resolution for a manual recount of votes in the May 12 election, in which Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sairoon coalition won most seats.

Iraqi judicial authorities have ordered the arrest of four suspects over the fire, which the authorities believe was not accidental.