Muhammad
04-28-2010, 01:56 PM
Iraq postpones election ruling until Wednesday, April 28th ... (http://articlesofinterest-kelley.blogspot.com/2010/04/iraq-postpones-election-ruling-until.html)
http://www.rnw.nl/data/files/afp/english/photo_1272365419319-1-1.jpg
27 April 2010
Iraq postpones election ruling
An Iraqi judicial panel postponed until Wednesday a decision on whether nine election-winning candidates be barred from taking up their seats, further complicating plans to form a new government.
The judicial panel was due to decide on Tuesday if the candidates should be disqualified after allegations they had links to the Baath party of the late dictator Saddam Hussein or the military forces that dominated his regime.
But a spokesman said the decision had been delayed until Wednesday.
"Discussions took place but there will be no decision today. It will be tomorrow," said Ali Mahmud, spokesman for the controversial Justice and Accountability Committee (JAC) that recommended the disqualifications.
Mahmud confirmed that only one winning candidate had been barred by the three-judge panel on Monday, rather than two as was originally stated.
Around 50 others who failed to secure seats also had their candidatures invalidated.
Monday's rulings drew anger from former premier Iyad Allawi, whose secular Iraqiya coalition won the March 7 vote and included the barred winning candidate.
Shiite Allawi's strong backing in Sunni Arab areas led him to defeat incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, also Shiite, with 91 seats to 89 according to unofficial results. Allawi said Iraqiya would challenge the disqualifications.
Iraqiya officials have alleged that the coalition is being targeted by officials and Shiite religious parties who do not want Allawi to obtain power.
Although Allawi defeated Maliki, both fell massively short of the 163 seats needed to form a majority in a new 325-seat parliament, ushering in so far fruitless coalition negotiations between them and smaller parties.
The US ambassador to Baghdad, Christopher Hill, meanwhile, voiced concern about delays that, almost seven weeks after the election, have left Iraqi politics deadlocked.
It now "seems it's time to get this show on the road," Hill told reporters in Baghdad on Monday, conceding for the first time that the timeline for forming a new government was slipping.
"We are concerned that the process is lagging," he said. "It is time that the politicians got down to business and started forming a government."
http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/iraq-postpones-election-ruling-0 (http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/iraq-postpones-election-ruling-0)
Posted by Kel at 4/27/2010 09:59:00 AM (http://articlesofinterest-kelley.blogspot.com/2010/04/iraq-postpones-election-ruling-until.html) http://img2.blogblog.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif (http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=4703246302548835813&postID=2448003661958756455)
Labels: iraq elections (http://articlesofinterest-kelley.blogspot.com/search/label/iraq%20elections)
http://www.rnw.nl/data/files/afp/english/photo_1272365419319-1-1.jpg
27 April 2010
Iraq postpones election ruling
An Iraqi judicial panel postponed until Wednesday a decision on whether nine election-winning candidates be barred from taking up their seats, further complicating plans to form a new government.
The judicial panel was due to decide on Tuesday if the candidates should be disqualified after allegations they had links to the Baath party of the late dictator Saddam Hussein or the military forces that dominated his regime.
But a spokesman said the decision had been delayed until Wednesday.
"Discussions took place but there will be no decision today. It will be tomorrow," said Ali Mahmud, spokesman for the controversial Justice and Accountability Committee (JAC) that recommended the disqualifications.
Mahmud confirmed that only one winning candidate had been barred by the three-judge panel on Monday, rather than two as was originally stated.
Around 50 others who failed to secure seats also had their candidatures invalidated.
Monday's rulings drew anger from former premier Iyad Allawi, whose secular Iraqiya coalition won the March 7 vote and included the barred winning candidate.
Shiite Allawi's strong backing in Sunni Arab areas led him to defeat incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, also Shiite, with 91 seats to 89 according to unofficial results. Allawi said Iraqiya would challenge the disqualifications.
Iraqiya officials have alleged that the coalition is being targeted by officials and Shiite religious parties who do not want Allawi to obtain power.
Although Allawi defeated Maliki, both fell massively short of the 163 seats needed to form a majority in a new 325-seat parliament, ushering in so far fruitless coalition negotiations between them and smaller parties.
The US ambassador to Baghdad, Christopher Hill, meanwhile, voiced concern about delays that, almost seven weeks after the election, have left Iraqi politics deadlocked.
It now "seems it's time to get this show on the road," Hill told reporters in Baghdad on Monday, conceding for the first time that the timeline for forming a new government was slipping.
"We are concerned that the process is lagging," he said. "It is time that the politicians got down to business and started forming a government."
http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/iraq-postpones-election-ruling-0 (http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/iraq-postpones-election-ruling-0)
Posted by Kel at 4/27/2010 09:59:00 AM (http://articlesofinterest-kelley.blogspot.com/2010/04/iraq-postpones-election-ruling-until.html) http://img2.blogblog.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif (http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=4703246302548835813&postID=2448003661958756455)
Labels: iraq elections (http://articlesofinterest-kelley.blogspot.com/search/label/iraq%20elections)