Neighbors seek to sway Iraq vote: report

ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's foreign minister accused neighboring countries of attempting to influence the outcome of a national election on Sunday seen as a crucial test as Iraq emerges from years of war and sectarian violence.

Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Jordan and Kuwait have all intervened to varying degrees ahead of Iraq's second national election for a full four-year term since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari told Reuters.

"This is not just an Iraqi election, this is a regional election that Iraq's neighbors are watching very closely," he said in an interview late on Wednesday.

"Some of them are active participants in supporting certain groups, favoring certain outcomes," he said.

"All six neighbors are involved."

Zebari did not cite specific actions, but said the interference included financial support for parties.

Iraqis are concerned about Iranian influence over the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad, the activities in Syria of people loyal to late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and funding by Saudis of Islamist insurgent groups.

Opponents criticized a recent visit to Saudi Arabia by secular Shi'ite Iyad Allawi, a former prime minister and leading contender in the March 7 vote, and accused him of seeking financing there, a charge he denied.

"Many of the regional powers don't like our experiment in democracy," Zebari said. "Some of our neighbors look upon this experiment with unease. We are not exporters of democratic revolutions, but this is our destiny, this is our choice."

"DEFINING MOMENT"

The poll is a "defining moment" in Iraq's young and tenuous democracy, said Zebari, himself a candidate with the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), one of the two parties that control Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

The vote will be an important barometer for the future of areas such as the city of Mosul and the oil-producing city of Kirkuk, he said. Both cities have been mired in a long-running dispute between Iraq's Arab majority and the Kurdish minority over land, wealth and power.

Zebari said it could take more than five months to form the next government because no one will have enough seats in the new parliament to take power on their own.

"The Kurds will play an important role, we will definitely have a say in the formation of the next government," Zebari said. "In Baghdad, if the Kurds come together ... as we did in the previous election, we will play a very important role."

U.S. troops, which now number less than 100,000 compared with a peak of 170,000, are due to end combat operations in August, before a complete pull-out in 2011. Only a cataclysmic deterioration in Iraq's improved security could affect those plans, U.S. officials say.

"If we succeed, yes, it will be the end of the American presence," Zebari said.

"If there are setbacks, if there is deterioration in the security, if there will be people who will challenge the outcome or resort to violence, it will be another story."

(Editing by Rania El Gamal and Sonya Hepinstall)