Shams network trains 450 election monitors in Karbala

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: The head of Shams network for election monitoring in the mid Euphrates said that 25 persons completed a training program to monitor the upcoming provincial elections, in addition to 425 others who completed similar programs during the past weeks. “The 450 monitors will work on monitoring elections, electoral campaigns, and registering violations,” Hussein al-Ibrahimi told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The 25 persons who graduated today represent the last dispatch of monitors before the elections,” he said. “The programs were held in coordination with the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) in Iraq, Amman Center for Human Rights Studies, and the United Nations (UN),” he added.   Shams network for election monitoring was formed in 2004. It consists of more than 88 Iraqi organizations. Its mission is to train election monitors throughout Iraq. The holy city of Karbala lies 110 km southwest of Baghdad. MH (P)/SR 1