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Bush Wars Title: Iraq Political Crisis Worsens as Court Bars Candidates BAGHDAD — A special electoral court in Iraq disqualified a winning candidate in last month’s election on charges he once was a member of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party, two officials said Monday. The decision was the first concrete move to change the preliminary results of the vote that Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s coalition narrowly lost. The court’s ruling intensified a political crisis that remains far from resolved, raising tensions and even the specter of violence. The court’s decision, at a minimum, will delay the formation of a new government through the months when the Obama administration has pledged to withdraw its combat troops, leaving a force of only 50,000 after September. The disqualified candidate won a seat in the new 325-member Parliament on a slate led by Ayad Allawi, a Shiite who served as interim prime minister after the American invasion in 2003, the officials said. The court, however, also disqualified 51 losing candidates, and the votes they received will be discarded, requiring a recalculation of the winners — and losers — across the ballot, the officials said. The director of the commission charged with purging former Baath loyalists also disclosed that he had asked the court to bar nine additional winning candidates, though the court has yet to rule on that. That would clearly change the outcome since all of the candidates belong to Mr. Allawi’s winning coalition, which had edged out Mr. Maliki’s bloc by two seats, 91 to 89. “It’s an effort to defame the political process,” said Maysoon al-Damlouji, a spokeswoman for Mr. Allawi’s coalition, known as Iraqiya. The machinations — denounced as illegal by Mr. Allawi’s supporters — appeared to strengthen Mr. Maliki’s efforts to return to office for a second term. His ability to win enough votes in Parliament to be re-elected prime minister, however, also appears increasingly in doubt, as other parties have intensified their criticism of his government, especially after a wave of bombings struck Shiite mosques and neighborhoods on Friday. The prolonged fight over the election’s results now shows no sign of ending, stalling the formation of a new government that is widely considered a test of the country’s stability. The electoral court’s ruling can be appealed, which would delay the process of seating the new Parliament for at least another month, and perhaps longer. Only a week ago, the same election panel ordered a partial recount of votes in the province that includes Baghdad. That was supposed to have begun already, but the country’s election commission said that it would be delayed at least another week as its commissioners sought clarification from the court about how exactly to conduct a recount. The convoluted challenges to the results, the dearth of public information and the weakness of Iraq’s institutions of state have compounded confusion over the election’s outcome and the path to forming a government. Many officials reacted with surprise after the court’s decision, relying on information — and misinformation — as word of the decision spread, but the court, as usual, did not publicly release its ruling. “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Hajim al-Hassani, a member of Mr. Maliki’s coalition, State of Law, said. “It’s going to the federal court. It’s up to these institutions to resolve these questions.” Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Tamer than our 2000 election cycle. I can see NOVEMBER from my House.... #2. To: Badeye (#1) Tamer than our 2000 election cycle. So what country's military was here in the US in 2000 posted around every polling precinct making sure the citizenry got it right? It's the war, stupid. #3. To: William Jennings Boofer (#1) Tamer than our 2000 election cycle. What the fuck are you babbling about? This decision could cause further sectarian based violence... #67. To: war (#48) Keep hiding behind the bozo, bozo. (laughing) You've always been a world class pussy. Badeye posted on 2010-01-14 16:12:48 ET Reply Trace #4. To: war (#3) What the fuck are you babbling about? This decision could cause further sectarian based violence... Cause and effect can be ignored by what seems to be the modern day voodoo cultists. It's the war, stupid. #5. To: mininggold (#4) (Edited) As corrupt as the GOP machinery was in 2000 - all the way up to the "Here's a one time and one time only decision" SCOTUS - people didn't arm themselves and plot to blow up neigborhoods...they waited until 2008 when a "nigger" got in... /sarc #67. To: war (#48) Keep hiding behind the bozo, bozo. (laughing) You've always been a world class pussy. Badeye posted on 2010-01-14 16:12:48 ET Reply Trace #6. To: Badeye (#1) Tamer than our 2000 election cycle. "Bombings gutted a market and destroyed at least five buildings in working-class Shiite Muslim areas of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing dozens as violence following last month's elections continued to escalate and raise fears among Iraqis that a new civil war could erupt. The blasts left mountains of rubble, burying men, women and children. Cranes lifted jagged walls, and rescuers tossed away bricks in hopes of finding survivors. " You are one dumb sack of shit. We're not fighting in Iraq. You should watch a news program occasionally. - Libery Flame Military Expert "Maddog" Badeye #7. To: Skip Intro (#6) Like I said, dickhead, tamer than our 2000 election cycle. Thanks for demonstrating my point. I can see NOVEMBER from my House.... Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest |
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