HAMDANIYAH, Iraq - Sami Habib Istifo, a Christian candidate in Iraq's provincial elections, has already lined up a replacement in case he is killed before voting day tomorrow, as two Sunni candidates were murdered in Mosul and Baghdad.
The 49-year-old member of one of the war-torn country's many minority groups is standing in the town of Hamdaniyah, in the northern province of Nineveh.
"I do not rule out the possibility that I may be killed before the election, so a person has been chosen to take my place," said Istifo, a wry smile on his lips.
Istifo has kept a very low profile in campaigning for the election, addressing only three public meetings and too afraid to venture across to the nearby city of Mosul to pick up his election posters.
As a result, only the posters of Sunni Arab and Kurdish candidates have been plastered on walls across the town.
Instead he is relying on the support of "influential" Chaldeans, Assyrians and Syriacs to secure him a seat on the Nineveh provincial council.
He is one of three Christian candidates for the seat and, according to his campaign manager Jamal Daoud, "stands a good chance of winning."
Istifo said he had been reluctant to throw his hat into the electoral ring.
"My friends insisted I stand and eventually they persuaded me," said the small-framed Istifo, adjusting his tie that disappeared into a V-necked pullover.
"I would have preferred not to stand but I had no other choice. One doesn't say no to one's friends," said Istifo, a professor at a technical university in Mosul.
Countrywide, more than 200 Christians have been killed since the US invasion in 2003. Reports suggest that over one million Iraqis (mainly Sunnis and Shiites) were killed during the same period of time.
Christians make up around three percent of Iraq's 29 million overwhelmingly Muslim population.
Around 800,000 Christians lived in Iraq in 2003, but the number has since shrunk as many members of the various communities have fled the country after the US-led invasion, according to Christian leaders.
Meanwhile, two Sunni candidates were assassinated in Mosul and Baghdad.
The first murder occurred in Baghdad, where armed men opened fire on Omar Faruq al-Ani, a candidate for the Iraqi Concord Front, the main Sunni group in the country's parliament, police and army officials said.
The second victim, Hazim Salim Ahmed, a Sunni standing for the Iraqi National Unity list, was shot dead outside his home in the northern city of Mosul.
The 49-year-old member of one of the war-torn country's many minority groups is standing in the town of Hamdaniyah, in the northern province of Nineveh.
"I do not rule out the possibility that I may be killed before the election, so a person has been chosen to take my place," said Istifo, a wry smile on his lips.
Istifo has kept a very low profile in campaigning for the election, addressing only three public meetings and too afraid to venture across to the nearby city of Mosul to pick up his election posters.
As a result, only the posters of Sunni Arab and Kurdish candidates have been plastered on walls across the town.
Instead he is relying on the support of "influential" Chaldeans, Assyrians and Syriacs to secure him a seat on the Nineveh provincial council.
He is one of three Christian candidates for the seat and, according to his campaign manager Jamal Daoud, "stands a good chance of winning."
Istifo said he had been reluctant to throw his hat into the electoral ring.
"My friends insisted I stand and eventually they persuaded me," said the small-framed Istifo, adjusting his tie that disappeared into a V-necked pullover.
"I would have preferred not to stand but I had no other choice. One doesn't say no to one's friends," said Istifo, a professor at a technical university in Mosul.
Countrywide, more than 200 Christians have been killed since the US invasion in 2003. Reports suggest that over one million Iraqis (mainly Sunnis and Shiites) were killed during the same period of time.
Christians make up around three percent of Iraq's 29 million overwhelmingly Muslim population.
Around 800,000 Christians lived in Iraq in 2003, but the number has since shrunk as many members of the various communities have fled the country after the US-led invasion, according to Christian leaders.
Meanwhile, two Sunni candidates were assassinated in Mosul and Baghdad.
The first murder occurred in Baghdad, where armed men opened fire on Omar Faruq al-Ani, a candidate for the Iraqi Concord Front, the main Sunni group in the country's parliament, police and army officials said.
The second victim, Hazim Salim Ahmed, a Sunni standing for the Iraqi National Unity list, was shot dead outside his home in the northern city of Mosul.
