273 electoral centers in Najaf ready to receive voters

NAJAF / IraqiNews.com: The head of the Independent Higher Commission for Elections’ (IHCE) office in Najaf on Sunday said that 273 centers throughout the province are now ready to receive voters. “The commission has prepared 273 centers in the province and received the slates of candidates for the upcoming provincial council elections,” Bushra al-Zamili told IraqiNews.com. Najaf, about 160 km south of Baghdad, has an estimated population of 900,600 in 2008, though this has increased significantly since 2003 due to immigration from abroad. The city is one of the holiest cities of Shiite Islam and the center of Shiite political power in Iraq. Najaf is renowned as the site of the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Taleb (also known as “Imam Ali”), whom Shiites consider to be the righteous caliph and first imam. The city is now a great center of pilgrimage from throughout the Shiite Islamic world. It is estimated that only Mecca and Medina receive more Muslim pilgrims. The Imam Ali Mosque is housed in a grand structure with a gilded dome and many precious objects in its walls. SS (S)/SR 1