http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=19794
Iraq MPs to Meet over 'Saddam' Candidates Row
08/02/2010
Iraqi policemen frisk residents near the site of a rally against the
former Baath Party return in Baghdad. (R)
Iraqi men shout slogans during a protest in Baghdad against the stand in
the upcoming elections of some candidates with links to the outlawed Baath
party. (AFP)
An Iraqi policeman uses a bomb detector as people join an anti-Baathist
protest in Baghdad. (AP)
BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraqi MPs were gathering on Monday to debate a contentious
decision to allow hundreds of candidates linked to executed dictator Saddam
Hussein's Baath party to compete in next month's elections.
Parliament was set to reconvene at 1:00 pm (1000 GMT) parliament speaker Iyad
al-Samarrai said, after an emergency session was called off Sunday as MPs had
not received a judicial report needed before they start their meeting.
The March 7 general election, the second in Iraq since Saddam's ouster, is seen
as a test of reconciliation between the Sunni minority dominant under the
former dictator and the Shiite majority represented by the present government.
The volatile election environment was underscored late Sunday when a female
candidate was gunned down in the restive northern city of Mosul, 350 kilometres
(218 miles) north of Baghdad, a killing said to be politically motivated.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government last week branded a judicial panel's
decision to reinstate the candidates as "illegal," and ordered that parliament
be recalled.
Only 75 of the war-torn country's 275 MPs attended the called-off session on
Sunday, which coincided with demonstrations against the overturn of the ban in
the Iraqi capital and the dominant Shiite cities of Basra and Najaf.
Several hundred protesters congregated outside Baghdad provincial government
headquarters, carrying banners that read "No to the return of criminal
Baathists," and "No Baathists or Saddam."
In Najaf, hundreds of tribal chiefs, religious leaders and citizens were
similarly opposed.
"We don't agree on the return of those who destroyed Iraq, killed innocent
people and stole the wealth of the country, and we demand the government and
parliament stop them," said Haidar Daabel, a 35-year-old teacher.
The judges decided on Wednesday to allow the previously barred candidates to
stand, saying they would examine their files after the polls and would
eliminate them if they were found to be Baathists.
A statement from Maliki's office on Saturday said leaders had "agreed on the
need to resolve the issue of those barred (from the elections) according to the
law."
It was released after a meeting between Maliki, Supreme Court chief Madhat
al-Hammud, parliament speaker Samarrai, deputy speaker Khaled al-Attiya and
Deputy Prime Minister Roz Nuri Shawis.
The officials also decided "to ask the magistrates to issue a ruling based on
the evidence they were given and to accomplish their duty before campaigning
starts" on February 12, the statement said.
The blacklist was compiled last month by an integrity and accountability
committee, sparking tensions between the country's Shiite majority and its
Sunni Arab former elite.
It includes -- both Sunni and Shiite -- suspected Baathists and alleged members
of Saddam's once deadly Fedayeen (Men of Sacrifice) militia and Mukhabarat
intelligence division.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday she was "heartened" by the
decision to reinstate the previously banned candidates and urged all parties to
do nothing to undermine the legitimacy of elections.
The row over who can take part in the vote, however, has underscored the
fragility of Iraq's democracy, alarming Washington which sees the election as a
crucial precursor to a complete military withdrawal by the end of 2011.
There are currently 107,000 US troops in Iraq, but the number is scheduled to
fall to 50,000 by August when all American combat soldiers are due to pull out.
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