Campaigning for Iraq’s April 30 elections will be “highly divisive” as parties appeal to their sectarian bases at a time of worsening violence, the UN’s envoy to Baghdad has warned. Nickolay Mladenov also pushed for Iraqi leaders to urgently pass a much-delayed annual budget within two weeks, noting that further postponing the spending bill would badly impact on drawing much-needed business and investment to the country. His remarks came as campaigning officially began on Tuesday for the parliamentary polls, Iraq’s first since March 2010, with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki eyeing a third term with bloodshed at its highest level since the country emerged from a brutal sectarian war in 2008. “Campaigning will be highly divisive,” Mladenov told AFP from his office in Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone complex, which is also home to parliament and the American and British embassies. “Everyone is […]