Some 7,471 Iraqi candidates, eitherindividual contestants or representing parties and alliances, willrun for the 275 parliamentary seats in the coming elections, theindependent Electoral Commission said on Wednesday.   A total of 111 lists, fielded by 75 political parties, 27individuals and nine alliances, have now been validated for thepoll, said Farid Ayar, the commission spokesman.   Every vote will only identify codes and names of 111 blocs butnot the names of the candidates, said Ayar. "It is up to theparties as whether to inform the voters of the candidates' names,"he added.

The landmark elections, due on January 30, are said to be thefirst free nation-wide Iraqi poll since the monarchy was toppledhalf a century ago.

A transitional national assembly, 18 provincial councils and aKurdish regional parliament will be created. The elected nationalassembly will in turn form a new government and draft a permanentconstitution.

Source: Xinhua