mr president fifty-eight people lost their lives on sunday trying to exercise their right to vote in the iraqi elections and one hundred and forty were seriously injured
however violence intimidation threats of attack and blackmail did not deter millions of courageous iraqis from going to the polls
there have been repeated attempts to manipulate and distort the outcome of the election
the banning of more than five hundred secular non-sectarian candidates by the bogus accountability and justice commission the repeated bomb attacks on polling day and the deeply sinister delay in announcing the results are all disturbing signs of dirty tricks
the ominous interference of iran has been a constant feature of this election and we must today send it this stark warning do not try to install a puppet prime minister in iraq do not try to defraud the iraqi people of their democratic rights and do not plunge iraq back into sectarian chaos because the west is watching you and you are under the spotlight
