Diala police chief rules out violence when election results announced

DIALA / IraqiNews.com: The Diala police chief on Sunday ruled out the eruption of acts of violence when the final results of the country’s January 31 local elections are announced. “I don’t think acts of violence might break out in Diala, where police and army forces are intensively deployed, now that these forces have proved capable of maintaining security and stability all over the province,” Maj. General Abdelhussein al-Shimari told IraqiNews.com news agency. Sheikh Basem al-Samarraie, a candidate for the Iraqi National Project Grouping (INPG), had expected on Sunday (Feb. 8) that acts of violence would follow the announcement of the final results of the provincial council elections as some objected “vote rigging”. Led by Sunni lawmaker Saleh al-Motlak, the INPG encompasses 29 members, including seven women. AmR (P) 1