BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi officials yesterday announced drastic security measures for the Jan. 30 national-assembly elections, including a travel ban between cities, the establishment of pedestrian-only areas within blocks of the polling places and plans to park bulldozers and ambulances in front of the polling sites.

One U.S. general said it was "highly likely" that travel restrictions would be so severe that all private-vehicle traffic would be banned across the country on election day. Already, Iraq is under a state of emergency, with expanded police powers and a curfew, as fears of election-related mayhem grow.

Iraqi officials yesterday also settled a lingering question on whether people in insurgent trouble spots could vote in safer areas, saying voters must vote in their own provinces, despite the risks.

"People in Fallujah," the scene of the bloodiest fighting so far in Iraq, "will not be allowed to vote in Baghdad," said Abdul Hussein Hendawi, the Iraqi election commissioner. "The voter will not be allowed to go outside his province."

U.S. military officials conceded that this policy might mean a low turnout in the hard-core Sunni areas violently opposed to the presence of U.S. forces and the elections. In several of these areas, insurgents have killed election officials and threatened to behead anyone who votes.

Yesterday, a spokesman for the Duleim tribe, one of the largest in the Sunni-dominated Anbar Province, said tribal leaders were urging members to boycott the election because they viewed it as illegitimate. "They cannot vote," said Talal al-Gaaod, referring to his 3 million fellow Duleim members. "If anybody goes to vote, they will be killed."

Officials are hoping that by relaxing voter-registration rules in the two most troubled provinces, Anbar in the west and Nineveh in the north, more voters will turn out. In those two areas, voters will be allowed to register on election day.

Security officials blame Sunni Arab insurgents for the bulk of election-related violence. Sunni Arabs, who make up 20 percent of Iraq's population, are expected to fare badly in the elections for the 275-seat national assembly and provincial councils.

Most of the Sunni political parties have dropped out of the race as Shiite political groups have steadily gathered momentum. Sixty percent of Iraq's population is Shiite and several of the top Shiite groups, which have waited decades to seize power, have joined forces.

The Shiite groups are expected to win overwhelmingly under a U.N.-suggested and U.S.-approved format that allows candidates to run as individuals or as part of a slate. Each voter can cast one ballot for the national assembly, either for an individual or for a slate.

If 10 million people vote, it will take about 36,000 votes (1/275th of the total votes) for an individual to win a seat. Slates would receive one seat for each 36,000 votes received, with those listed on the top of the slate entering the national assembly, which will appoint a central government and draft a permanent constitution.

Adding to people's lack of confidence is the fact that Iraqi security forces, who have had problems just protecting themselves from suicide bombers and gunmen, will be in charge of voter security.

According to the plan unveiled yesterday, Iraqi police officers and soldiers will guard polling places and roadblocks, while U.S. troops wait at a discreet distance.

"There will be some coordination with multinational forces," said Wael Abdul Latif, Iraq's provincial affairs minister. "But the greatest responsibility will fall on Iraqi shoulders."

Latif did not reveal the number of forces, but Sabah Kadhim, the Ministry of Interior spokesman, said 100,000 of the nation's 135,000 police officers would be working that day to protect an estimated 5,500 polling sites.

Latif and Hendawi said the government would declare election day a national holiday.

The polling sites would be open between 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. There would be two lines leading into a polling center, one for men, the other for women, Hendawi said. Voters in each line are to be searched before casting their ballot.

Afterward, the ballots would be counted at each polling center, he said. The results would then be sent to Baghdad, and the government expects to release preliminary results within hours after the polls close and the final tally within 10 days, he said.

With only two weeks before the election, authorities have yet to reveal important details about the process.

The election commission, which promised a transparent system, has not yet said when it would reveal the names of the candidates or when voters would learn where they could cast their ballot. And they admitted the security plan they outlined could change.

As the government began trickling information out about the election, some residents in Baghdad were stockpiling supplies at home, saying they did not know what to expect around election day. Many observers expect an upsurge of violence.

Yusra Yousef, a 30-year-old mother of two in western Baghdad, said that she was buying food and water. She had heard there could be a water shortage.

"We are used to such crises. We have stockpiled for every crisis and war," Yousef said.

Ahmed Kamal, 33, owns a grocery store in western Baghdad and said that since last week, he noticed more people buying canned foods, rice and beans. Some of his customers bring a list of goods they need, and he spends the day packaging them.

"Some people want to take it with them to Syria or Jordan," Kamal said. They want to leave the country "to avoid the violence. It's cheaper for people to shop from here."

Material from The Washington Post is included in this report.