12 June 2018•Update: 13 June 2018
BAGHDAD
Iraqi forces on Tuesday tightened up security measures around ballot box warehouses in a number of provinces.
The move comes after a huge fire broke out on Sunday in a major storage space for ballot boxes in the capital Baghdad.
“Police have deployed extra patrols around the storage space for ballot boxes in the southern Wasit province,” police chief Major-General Qasim Rashid told reporters.
Similar measures were taken in Basra, Maysan and Al-Diwaniyah in southern Iraq.
Sunday’s fire came shortly after the Iraqi parliament adopted a resolution for a manual recount of votes in the May 12 election, in which Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sairoon coalition won most seats.
Iraqi judicial authorities have ordered the arrest of four suspects over the fire, which the authorities believe was not accidental.
Reporting by Ali Jawad:Writing by Mahmoud Barakat
