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....BAGHDAD, Jan. 20 -- An overwhelming majority of Iraqis continue to say
they intend to vote on Jan. 30 even as insurgents press attacks aimed at
rendering the elections a failure, according to a new public opinion
survey.

The poll, conducted in late December and early January for the
International Republican Institute, found 80 percent of respondents saying
they were likely to vote, a rate that has held roughly steady for months

The 64 percent who said they were "very likely" to vote represented a dip
of about 7 percentage points from a November survey, while those "somewhat
likely" to vote increased 5 points.

Western specialists involved with election preparations said they were
struck by the determination and resilience of ordinary Iraqis as they
anticipate their country's first free election in half a century.

"Despite the efforts of the terrorists, Iraqis remain committed to casting
their vote on election day," IRI President Lorne Craner said in a
statement. The organization, which is funded by Congress through the
National Endowment for Democracy and the U.S. Agency for International
Development, commissioned the poll, which surveyed 1,900 Iraqis in all but
two of the country's 18 provinces. Poor security made two in the far north,
Nineveh and Dohuk, inaccessible. The margin of error was plus or minus 3
percentage points. ...


--
"We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they
who need public cures for their private ails." Eric Hoffer
Med venlig hilsen
Georg