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GENEVA (AP) --
Registration for overseas absentee voting in Iraq's
national election has been extended by two days
because the turnout so far in the weeklong campaign
has been running far behind expectations, organizers
said Saturday.
The International Organization for Migration, which
is handling the overseas vote in 14 countries,
decided to continue registrations through Monday and
Tuesday.
As of Thursday fewer than one in 10 of the estimated
1.2 million eligible Iraqis living outside the
country had registered.
"We are extending our operation in an effort to
provide Iraqi voters with as much access to our
centers as possible," said Peter Erben, director of
the project. "We would urge Iraqis to register now
to avoid being caught in lengthy queues on the final
day."
Niurka Pineiro, spokeswoman for the Geneva-based
organization, said that "in some places" the turnout
has been less than it had expected. She noted that
in Australia only one in eight of the estimated
eligible voters had signed up as of Thursday.
"We don't know exactly why," Pineiro said. "It could
be a number of things. It could be procrastination,
it could be apathy, they don't have the right
documents. There are many Iraqis who have been out
for a long time."
She said there was speculation that a Muslim holiday
this week may have been a factor.
The organization said in a statement, "The extra
days will apply to each of the 74 registration
centers in all 14 countries where Iraqis are able to
register and vote, pending the approval of the host
governments."
The absentee voting itself will still be held over
three days, Jan. 28-30, with the final day
coinciding with the election day in Iraq, the agency
said.
To register, Iraqis have to document their identity,
Iraqi nationality and birth on or before Dec. 31,
1986. They must then return to the same location to
vote.
As of Thursday 93,847 overseas Iraqis had
registered, the agency said.
The national breakdown of registrations through the
first four days is 5,158 in Australia, 8,506 in
Britain, 3,473 in Canada, 5,084 in Denmark, 267 in
France, 6,448 in Germany, 20,805 in Iran, 5,019 in
Jordan, 4,882 in the Netherlands, 10,773 in Sweden,
6,236 in Syria, 2,144 in Turkey, 6,086 in the United
Arab Emirates and 8,966 in the United States.
Iraqis who live outside the host countries may
travel at their own expense to a participating
country to register and vote.
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
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