5 candidates excluded in Thi-Qar

THI-QAR / IraqiNews.com: Five candidates for the provincial council elections in Thi-Qar were excluded after candidacy lists were sent to Baghdad for endorsement, according to the director of Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) office in the province. “The Higher Board for Accountability & Justice has excluded five candidates running for the local elections in Thi-Qar due to a lack in documents provided or for coming under the law on debaathification,” Alaa Abad Ouda told IraqiNews.com. The number of candidates vying for seats in the local elections in Thi-Qar reached 1075 from 67 entities and five coalitions. Thi-Qar, 380 km south of Baghad, has an area of 12,900 square kilometers (4,980.7 sq mi). In 2003 the estimated population of the governorate was 1,454,200 people. Thi-Qar was the second Iraqi province where security responsibilities were transferred from the Multi-National Force (MNF) to the Iraqis. The province’s capital is the city of al-Nassiriya. It also includes the ancient Sumerian ruins of Ur, Eridu, Lagash and Ngirsu. Before 1976 the province was known as al-Muntafiq. AmR (P)/SR 2