Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi government announced its success in thwarting a possible fraud in the early parliamentary elections scheduled for October.
A statement issued on Wednesday by the Prime Minister’s Office said that the security services succeeded, under the direct supervision of the Iraqi judiciary, in implementing a proactive operation that thwarted an attempt to falsify the elections by putting pressure on a number of Electoral Commission employees, with the aim of shuffling the results and stirring chaos.
The statement said: “After careful technical investigations by the concerned bodies, and under the direct supervision of the judiciary, the security services were able to arrest a number of suspects in a group that tried to commit electoral fraud, by using their relations with employees of the Electoral Commission.”
“This came with the aim of provoking information and creating political chaos in Iraq, via a network of electronic communication sites, including a site called ‘Lady of Green’, where those in charge tried by various means to suggest that it was linked to the office of the Prime Minister, its employees, or the Prime Minister’s advisors,” according to the statement.
The Prime Minister’s Office was referring to a new website that published news and scandals some political blocs and figures, including an attack on the visit of the leader of the State of Law Coalition, Nuri al-Maliki to the Kurdistan region last week.
The statement continued: “Some media outlets - particularly those affiliated with some political powers - echoed these false slanders in a manner that lacks professionalism and fairness. This is considered a blatant violation of law and professional principles. Justice found its way to prove the invalidity of these lies…”
Kadhimi’s office stressed that the government would continue to “implement its commitments to secure fair elections, provide all its requirements and maintain its neutrality in terms of competition in the electoral process.”
