Al Jazeera Blogs

<p>The province&nbsp;looks&nbsp;set to see a high turnout of voters as Arabs, many of whom boycotted the 2005 elections,&nbsp;stake their claim to the region which lies at the heart of the Arab-Kurdish divide.</p>

<p>Iraqis are jumpy ahead of the elections&nbsp;- and with good reason too. Baghdad is&nbsp;already filled with blast walls and&nbsp;police seemingly every 50 metres.</p>

<p>More than 500 candidates compete in Anbar for 14 seats &ndash; four of which&nbsp;are allocated for women.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This could be the most representative election process to be held since the US led invasion in 2003.</p>

<p>The Goran movement, the relatively new Kurdish opposition party, brings change to Kurdish politics.</p>

<p>Millions of Iraqis are preparing to head to the polls for national elections on March 7 - many hoping for stability after years of violence. Stay up-to-date here with the latest tweets on breaking news and more.</p>

<p>Qasim Mohammed Abid lost his hand and has a broken leg. Narrowly escaping a suicide bomb attack in late December, he&rsquo;s now been hailed as a hero.</p>

<p>On the once-sealed Zeitoun street, in Baghdad&rsquo;s Mansour district, Iyad Allawi, the head of the opposition Iraqiya coalition, addressed one of the biggest gatherings in the run-up to the March 7 vote.</p>