Iraqi gov't vows punishment for tearing up campaign posters

BAGHDAD, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Interior Ministry warned Monday against tearing up posters and portraits of candidates during the campaign for the parliamentary elections slated for May 12.

"The Ministry of the Interior warns those abusers (for posters) that, by virtue of the constitutional, the law will be strictly enforced against anyone who contravenes the laws and regulations and will bring him to justice to receive his fair punishment," the ministry said in a statement.

It said that according to the law, those who attack the posters would be sentenced to imprisonment from one month to one year, or fined no less than 1 million Iraqi dinars (840 U.S. dollars) to 5 million dinars.

The statement came after local and foreign media circulated footage and photos of angry residents tearing up campaign posters or beating their portraits with their shoes.

Many residents of the Iraqi capital Baghdad expressed their disappointment over widespread corruption and incompetency of the political parties in the years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission kicked off the election campaign across Iraq on April 14, as dozens of billboards and thousands of posters were placed on the streets and some buildings.

The vote of parliamentary election will be held on May 12, as 6,986 candidates will compete for the 329 seats in the Iraqi parliament. This will be the first general election since Iraq's historical victory over the militant Islamic State group in December last year.

Iraq's previous general election was held on April 30, 2014, when the Iraqis elected 328 lawmakers for the parliament. Enditem