In Iraq, campaigning for the March 7 general elections began on Friday in a tense atmosphere over shadowed by angry demands from provincial leaders that workers linked to Saddam Hussein be fired. About 19 million people have the right to vote, including 1.4 million Iraqi citizens now living abroad in 16 countries, according to election organisers. A total of 6,500 candidates are contesting. According to Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), the vote, the second parliamentary ballot since Saddam was toppled, is seen as a test of reconciliation between the Sunni minority dominant under Saddam and the Shiite majority represented by Maliki's government.