Posted on 12/23/2005 6:43:22 PM PST by strategofr
Thousands of Sunni secular Shiite and Kurdish protesters took to the streets of Iraq Friday, Dec. 23, over what they called “the biggest election fraud in Middle East history.” Their umbrella group Maram alleges the UIA’s commanding lead in preliminary results of the Dec. 15 poll and was rigged and is calling for a new election.
DEBKAfile’s sources reveal that the announcement by former prime minister Iyad Allawi, head of the Iraqi List and a key American ally, that he and the Sunni bloc of 30 lists were boycotting the elections, brought US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld dashing over to Baghdad Thursday night.
Allawi alleges that convoys of trucks carrying sealed ballot boxes stuffed with forged voting slips and other documents went round polling stations on election-day and packed the ballot boxes with pro-Shiite votes. Between 10 and 15 of those trucks were intercepted by Iraqi security forces at the southern Iraqi towns of Qut, Al Amara and Basra. An investigation disclosed that they trucks were organized by Iranian intelligence agents to falsely boost the Iranian majority.
Rumsfeld will do his best to talk Allawi round in order to rescue one of the Bush administration’s greatest feats from collapse. Meanwhile Iraqi and UN officials are examining Allawi’s allegations.
I read it went way past that, with Iranians spreading rumors in areas of people against them that scared them away from coming to the polls---like saying the wells there were poisoned. Also some intimidation, if I recall.
Debka? Any other sources?
BS
Really. I trust Art Bell more than Debka.
"Allawi alleges that convoys of trucks carrying sealed ballot boxes stuffed with forged voting slips and other documents went round polling stations on election-day and packed the ballot boxes with pro-Shiite votes."
====
Police Seize Forged Ballots Headed to Iraq From Iran
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11303.htm
12/13/05 "New York Times" -- -- BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 13 - Less than two days before nationwide elections, the Iraqi border police seized a tanker on Tuesday that had just crossed from Iran filled with thousands of forged ballots, an official at the Interior Ministry said.
The tanker was seized in the evening by agents with the American-trained border protection force at the Iraqi town of Badra, after crossing at Munthirya on the Iraqi border, the official said. According to the Iraqi official, the border police found several thousand partly completed ballots inside.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the Iranian truck driver told the police under interrogation that at least three other trucks filled with ballots had crossed from Iran at different spots along the border.
See post 5.
Fake ballots were seized. Iran was sending in phony ballots by the truckloads.
We intercepted some, how many got through that we did not intercept?
It always amazes me, that people don't believe Debka, but they believe the NY Times.
And the other shoe drops. These allegations don't come as much of a surprise, unfortunately.
Two days before the elections is a long enough amount of time to secure the polling places of any tampering. I am sure that election officials and monitors were well aware of the incident and made every effort to secure the ballots.
I mean come on people, we also must consider the source on this one. The New York Times, what a bunch of you know what.
Even if they weren't intercepted at the border, I am sure the election commission and monitors were made well aware of the attempt and were very observant during the election.
"It always amazes me, that people don't believe Debka, but they believe the NY Times."
:)
“the biggest election fraud in Middle East history.”
The middle east doesn't have much of an election history, do they?
Didn't everyone vote for Saddam Hussein? No fraud there, right?
well now, saddam and the mullahs have had alot of experience with elections.
Those allegations were debunked by the American military who said no such seizures occured.
Remember the 2000 U.S. Presidential election and all we have been through since? That is a well-worn Commuist tactic which began in Eastern Europe after the fall of the USSR and the Berlin Wall. The first free elections after Communist control was loosened were won by non-Communists. The Communists first tried to rig the elections and when that failed they protested that the elections were illegal and corrupt. They then kept up that mantra by claiming the elected government was illegal and corrupt finally moved to impeach the leaders. Sound familiar?
Also, look at the Ukraine today.
The dispute is over 100,000 ballots out of 11,000,000. That's less than 1%.
Of the 1,500 Complaints only 37 are being considered serious.
This is a power play by the minority to get more power than they could at the ballot box.
They are acting like Democrats.
Host John Batchelor and John Fund humored the moron Todd.
Heh, the Sunnis, like the Democrats, can't lose, they can only be cheated out of winning the power they should rightfully hold.
"Remember the 2000 U.S. Presidential election and all we have been through since? That is a well-worn Commuist tactic which began in Eastern Europe after the fall of the USSR and the Berlin Wall. The first free elections after Communist control was loosened were won by non-Communists. The Communists first tried to rig the elections and when that failed they protested that the elections were illegal and corrupt. They then kept up that mantra by claiming the elected government was illegal and corrupt finally moved to impeach the leaders. Sound familiar?"
Excellent points. I have counted Allawi among the best of the Iraqis, which would go against your point. However, I wouldn't say that's enough to disprove your point.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.