Political campaigns get under way in Iraq after delay

CAMPAIGN SPEECHES and posters formally inaugurated Iraq’s parliamentary race yesterday, a week late due to a dispute over the exclusion of hundreds of candidates.

On Thursday, an appeals panel cleared only 28 on a list of 515 drawn up by a committee charged with disqualifying supporters of the outlawed Baath party. Two of the most prominent secular politicians, Saleh al-Mutlaq and Dhafir al-Ani, were among those barred.

Mr Mutlaq, a fierce critic of the Shia-dominated government, has had his entire party banned. Mr Ani is a leading figure in the secular Iraqiya party led by Ayad Allawi, a potential rival of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Tensions have been ratcheted up by the call by Shia factions in the central and southern areas of the country for the removal of officials who had connections with the Baath party. The deputy governor of Babil province, a former brigadier in the army, has been sent on leave. In Dhi Qar province, three senior security officers have been dismissed.

Lists of people to be fired from their jobs have been drawn up in Karbala province. Its governor, Muhammad al-Moussawi stated, “We will implement the law by eliminating Baathists. We will inform department directors, giving them a list of names of those who were members of the Baath party and providing proofs.”

During the 35 years of Baathist rule, Iraqis joined the party to secure posts in the armed forces and civil service. Since more than half of the party’s members were Shias, analysts observe that dismissals seem to fall disproportionately on secular Sunni nationalists who challenge the Shia religious and Kurdish ethnic parties that have dominated the political scene over the past seven years.

There are half a dozen major political blocs contesting the election. Mr Maliki’s “State of Law” coalition, running on a non-sectarian platform, consists of his Shia Dawa party and some Sunni tribal leaders.

The Iraqi National Alliance groups the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, the largest Shia party, the followers of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and Ahmad Chalabi, the prime mover of the de-Baathification effort. The secular nationalist Iraqiya of Mr Allawi, a Shia and Sunni vice president Tareq al-Has- hemi, has been seriously diminished by Mr Mutlaq’s banning.

Mr Bolani’s Iraq Unity, also hard hit by disqualifications, is a multiconfessional grouping which includes tribal and Sunni religious elements. The Sunni Accordance Front comprises the Iraqi Islamic Party and tribal leaders.

The Kurdish bloc is made up of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, led by President Jalal Talabani, and the Kurdish Democratic Party under Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdish autonomous region. Some 6,172 candidates are vying for 325 seats and about 19 million people have a vote.