Iraqi voters and politicians are concerned that escalating violence will affect elections on April 30.

On April 30, Iraqis will head to the ballot box in the fourth full election that has taken place since coalition forces invaded Iraq in 2003 to remove Saddam Hussein.
There are one or two crucial differences that mark Iraq's 2014 elections as clearly distinct from those that have gone before. First, the campaign and the elections themselves have taken place outside the bracket of security offered by the US and coalition forces, and it shows. In April 2010, one month after the elections, some 1,288 Iraqis had lost their lives, at the same stage in 2014, that number has risen almost four-fold.
Second, the three-year war in neighbouring Syria has stretched Iraq's resources to the limit: Influxes of refugees fleeing the fighting and an upswing of fighters linked to the al-Qaeda inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Lavent (ISIL) have brought insecurity and mayhem to Iraq's towns and cities.
The government led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki must take its fair share of the blame for this. In addition to its inability to stop Iraq's descent into violence, the government's rampant corruption, nepotism and acquiescence to sectarianising the internal security forces and the army, has left a bitter taste in the mouths of many Sunnis, Kurds and rival Shia groups. Maliki appears to specialise in alienating friends and foes alike.
The prime minister knows as much. Searching for his third term in office, Maliki has tried to reinforce his credentials as a strong man fighting (Sunni) terrorism to mobilise the Shia vote in his favour. Rival Shia factions, The Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) and the coalition of parties under the umbrella of Seyyed Muqtada al-Sadr are gunning for him.
ISCI, unburdened by power, has escaped the ire of the Shia general populous for the Maliki government's failures and stand to do well at the expense of Maliki's Daawa party led State of Law Coalition (SLC). Should they gain enough seats, they may well prove to tip the balance of power away from Maliki towards a new prime minister.