Borders shut, cars banned for Iraq vote

By Waleed Ibrahim

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq will seal its borders, shut airports, ban vehicles and deploy thousands of security forces when people go to the polls on Saturday to choose provincial leaders, officials said on Monday.

Iraqis will be voting for the first time in three years, putting to the test a recent sharp fall in sectarian violence and insurgent attacks unleashed by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is making a big effort to campaign in the hope of winning support in provinces which are largely in the hands of rivals.

The vote also will offer Sunni Arabs who boycotted the last provincial elections a chance to assume a share of local power.

Officials are determined not to allow bombers to disrupt the election, which will set the stage for a parliamentary vote later in the year and show whether Iraqi forces are capable of ensuring peace as U.S. troops begin to draw down.

"We have enough security forces, they are well trained and they will protect every single one of the polling stations," Major-General Aydin Khalid, head of Iraq's electoral security committee, told a news conference in Baghdad.

A vehicle ban will take effect from 10 a.m. (0700 GMT) on Thursday and be lifted at 5 a.m. (0200 GMT) on Sunday, February 1, he said. Only vehicles belonging to electoral officials, security forces and accredited media will be exempt.

The ban was most likely aimed at preventing car bombs, which are still a widely used militant tactic, although such attacks have fallen sharply as security improves across Iraq.