Militant groups have stepped up their anti-election propaganda and threatening statements on the Internet. About two per cent of Iraqis have Internet access, but the threats and messages reach the public when they are reported by television stations and newspapers. The statements have the same tone, and message: voters are apostates who will be targeted. A militant Internet statement says: ‘‘Voting is nothing but electing deities to worship other than Allah’’. Annan warns insurgents against scaring votersUNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has warned insurgents against intimidating voters and disrupting elections and urged voters to go to polling booths in large numbers. ‘‘To those who seek to disrupt the democratic process, let me say that there can never be justification for murder or intimidation of voters, candidates and elections workers,’’ he said in a video taped message. Three out of four Sunnis won’t vote: PollWASHINGTON: Three out of four Sunni Arabs will not vote in Iraq’s elections, while a majority of Sunnis and Shi’ites want US troops to leave the country immediately or as soon as an elected government is in place, according to a poll. About 76 per cent of Sunnis say they ‘‘definitely will not vote’’ in Sunday’s elections, according to the poll by US-based Zogby International for Abu Dhabi television.Polling station closed due to riot, bomb scareSYDNEY: An Australian polling station for Iraqi exiles voting in their homeland’s election was closed for an hour on Saturday after a riot broke out and a suspicious bag prompted a bomb scare, organisers said. —Agencies
