Iraq panel wipes out votes, result in doubt

An Iraqi judicial panel has invalidated the candidatures of 52 people who stood in Iraq's March 7 general election, an official said, casting a shadow over the slim lead of a Sunni-backed alliance.

"Their participation in the election is considered cancelled," said Ali Mahmud, spokesman for the justice and accountability panel chaired by former deputy prime minister Ahmed Chalabi.

"The appeal panel has rejected appeals from the 52 candidates which the justice and accountability panel discovered," Mahmud said.

One of the names barred for alleged ties to Saddam Hussein's banned Baath party was a winner in the March 7 ballot for the cross-sectarian bloc of ex-premier Iyad Allawi, which rode strong Sunni support to gain a two-seat lead in the election.

Unlikely change

Allawi's allies said they did not think the final election result would change. Under Iraq's electoral system, a candidate barred by the panel might conceivably be replaced by a member of the same party.

But any reduction in Iraqiya's representation could reignite Sunni anger just as the sectarian violence unleashed after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion recedes.

"The ruling of the review panel is politically motivated and could be detrimental to the whole democratic process in Iraq," said Mustafa al-Hiti, a senior member of Allawi's Iraqiya alliance.

Electoral officials and other politicians said a more significant ruling might come on Tuesday, when the panel considers the fate of six to nine winning candidates. The bloc that could benefit the most from any change in the result is Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition, which won 89 seats, just two behind Iraqiya's 91.

The rulings come before the expected start next week of a recount of votes in Baghdad, which could also change the result and enrage Sunnis who saw Iraqiya's success as a vindication of their claim to greater political clout.

The ruling of the review panel is politically motivated and could be detrimental to the whole democratic process in Iraq

Mustafa Alhiti, a senior member of the Iraqiya alliance

Sunnis' resentment at their fall from power after the ousting of Sunni dictator Saddam in 2003 helped fuel a bloody sectarian war and a fierce insurgency after the invasion.

Iraqis had hoped the election would help the war-damaged country cement improved security and stability.

Instead, the lack of a clear result has spawned protracted political uncertainty as Shi'ite-led, Sunni-backed and Kurdish factions try to negotiate tie-ups that would allow them to gain a working majority and pick the next government.

"This decision (of the review panel) builds a wall between the political parties when they should be getting closer to forming a government quickly," said Khamis al-Badri, a professor of political science at Baghdad University.

"This decision at this time will not be good for the political process."

The impasse has also occurred as international oil firms are starting to invest in Iraq's vast oilfields, launching the country on a path that could more than quadruple its oil output capacity to Saudi levels of 12 million barrels per day.

Hamdiya al-Husseini, a member of Iraq's independent electoral commission, said Monday's ruling by the panel was not final as the affected candidates had a month to appeal.