BAGHDAD -- An Arabic-language newspaper said Tuesday Iraq's interim defense minister could not guarantee the safety of voters or candidates for the Jan. 30 election.
"You ask me as defense minister, will I be able to provide safety for candidates and voters? I say no, I have no plan until now," Hazem Sha'alan was quoted as telling London-based Asharq al-Awsat.
"The Iraqi citizen doesn't know what elections are and doesn't know who the candidates are or who the voter is."
Sha'alan said he planned to run as an independent candidate in the elections for a transitional national assembly, CNN reported.
He also said a "vile coalition" inside Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's interim government is obstructing efforts to fund the new Iraqi army and pay pensions to former soldiers.
