Turkey says Iraqi vote fails at fair representation, calls for measures

ANKARA, Feb 13 (AFP) - Turkey said Sunday that the results of the Iraqi elections failed to ensure the fair representation of all ethnic groups in the conflict-ridden country and called for measures to compensate for what it called flaws and irregularities in the electoral process.
"The low turnout of some groups in the elections, the fact that almost no votes were cast in a number of provinces and the fact that manipulations in certain regions, including Kirkuk, led to unbalanced results are issues that need to be considered seriously," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
It added these led to an unfair representation of different ethnic and religious groups in the Iraqi parliament, which will draw up the country's constitution.
"It is seen as absolutely essential for the safety of the political process in Iraq to compensate for the unbalanced representation in the country's administration," the statement added.
Turkey is particularly irked by the strong gains of the two main Kurdish parties in the north of Iraq, which came in second in the elections after the main Shiite alliance with 25.7 percent of the vote and an estimated 71 seats in the 275-member parliament.
The Kurds also won an absolute majority in local polls in the oil-rich city Kirkuk, which many want to see as the capital of a future independent Kurdish state.
Ankara protested when large numbers of Kurds said to have been expelled from Kirkuk under Saddam Hussein were allowed to settle and vote in the city, despite protests by rival ethnic groups that many of them have no bonds with Kirkuk.
"It has become clear that certain elements in Iraq tried to manipulate votes in this historic process and have obtained unjustified gains from this," the Turkish statement said, without giving any names.
It added that Ankara expected Iraqi authorities to properly examine complaints filed over the elections and look into claims of irregularities.
Turkey fears that independence-minded Kurdish moves in northern Iraq will embolden separatism across the border in southeastern Turkey, where a Kurdish rebellion has already claimed some 37,000 lives.

02/13/2005 19:20 GMT - AFP