Largest Graveyard In Iraq Used For Election Campaign

Iraq's largest graveyard in the holy city of Al-Najaf has been widely used by election campaign managers to promote their candidates.

Correspondents from Radio Free Iraq report that the cemetery walls are covered with candidates' portraits and election posters.

Iraq's Independent Election Commission has officially defined places where the election materials cannot be placed, but Al-Najaf's graveyard, one of the largest in the world, is not one of them.

Provincial elections in Iraq are scheduled for January 31.

In 2003, the cemetery was the scene of intense fighting between U.S. forces and militants loyal to radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

-- Iraq Service/Merkhat Sharipzhanov