Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
BAGHDAD, Iraq – On February 26 the National Dialogue Front, a prominent Sunni political party backed off previous threats to boycott Iraq’s coming parliamentary elections. The action took place after threats from rival parties to threaten to have the leader of the party charged with terrorism. Additionally, in a surprising move, twenty thousand former soldiers of Saddam Hussein were reinstated by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Saleh al-Mutlak, the party’s leader, claims that will no longer boycott the March 7 election because of the popular support received from their members. He said that “if Iraqiya (the coalition that the National Dialogue Front is a part of) doesn’t succeed, the whole of Iraq will be in chaos.” Mutlak explained that “(the party leadership) don’t want to be seen as the reason behind that chaos.”
Mutlak was the most prominent of hundreds of Sunni and secular candidates who were banned from running in the parliamentary elections. The individuals were banned for allegedly having ties to former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party. This determination was made by a commission composed of Shi’ites who are also participating in the election.
The executive director the commission, named the Justice and Accountability Commission, said that Mutlak will face criminal charges for funding and backing an armed group of former members of the Baath Party. Ali Falial al-Lami explained that the commission was in possession of confessions and they “were documented and endorsed by members of the Iraqi judiciary, and the suspects who gave the confessions are still in custody”
Mutlak and other members of the National Dialogue Front have long accused the al-Maliki government of harassing and unfairly targeting the party. He claims that some of his bodyguards were arrested and tortured until they made false confessions regarding the party leader.
The Iraqi Prime Minister has also come under fire his decision to reinstate twenty thousand former army officers who served under Saddam Hussein. Mayson al-Damalogi, a spokesman for Iraqiya, explained the coalition’s skepticism. He said that “this is purely a means of trying to gain more votes.” The decision to reinstate the officers was confirmed by Ministry of Defense spokesman Mohammed al-Askari.
For more information, please see:
Washington Post – Sectarian Tensions Rise Before Iraq Elections – 26 February 2010
New York Times – Iraq to Rehire 20,000 Hussein-Era Army Officers – 25 February 2010
Reuters – Prominent Iraqi Sunni Ends Party’s Poll Boycott – 25 February 2010
Voice of America – Key Iraqi Sunni Politician Decides Not to Boycott – 25 February 2010
