Linking to the Iraqi Baath Party...a ghost haunting local election candidates

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[size=52]Linking to the Iraqi Baath Party...a ghost haunting local election candidates[/size]

[size=45]The Independent High Electoral Commission in Iraq continues to isolate and exclude candidates for the provincial council elections (local governments), scheduled for next December 18.[/size]
[size=45]Last Sunday, the Commission announced that the number of excluded candidates reached 255, and that most of them are linked to the Iraqi Baath Party, which was banned in the country following the American invasion in 2003. Knowing that about a month ago, the Commission excluded one hundred candidates.[/size]
[size=45]The head of the media team at the Election Commission, Imad Jamil, confirmed in statements to journalists in Baghdad, that “as of today (yesterday), Friday, more than 300 candidates have been excluded and distributed as follows: 197 through the Accountability and Justice Commission (the De-Baathification Commission), and 102 registered.” A criminal, a member of national security, a person due to terrorism, a person due to integrity, and 19 who do not fulfill the nomination requirements.”[/size]
[size=45]According to political sources, the most prominent of those excluded is the Governor of Nineveh, Najm al-Jubouri, who founded a political party to participate in the local elections, but replaced his candidacy with that of his son. Al-Jubouri commented angrily on television stations after the decision, saying, “They used to call me Khush Zalma (a brave man) when I was fighting ISIS, but now they say that I am a Baathist.”[/size]
[size=45]Association with the Iraqi Baath Party.
According to political sources from Baghdad, Anbar, and Nineveh, “the exclusion of dozens of candidates from the western and northern governorates on charges of belonging or association with the Baath is a violation of the right to run in the elections.”[/size]
[size=45]The sources told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that “what is known as the Accountability and Justice Commission has become a game in the hands of political forces and figures that practice blackmail and exclusion, and that most of the exclusion decisions were made with clear political agreements,” noting that “the exclusion of Najm Al-Jubouri is the clearest example of the arbitrary use of power in Neutralizing opponents from political participation, and therefore the decision to exclude him is not because of the Baath Party, but rather because of the expectations of political forces that he will win in Nineveh Governorate, and these same measures are taking place in Anbar, Diyala, and Baghdad.”[/size]
[size=45]The procedures for excluding candidates in this way come in contradiction to promises made by Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani to transfer the procedures of the “Accountability and Justice” Commission, related to excluding members of the Baath Party from participating in political and governmental life, to the judiciary, so that the file is judicial, far from any political side, which is what the political forces demand. Sunni Arab News, which believes that the file has been used politically to a large extent.[/size]
[size=45]For his part, a member of the “Coordinating Framework” coalition, MP Muhammad Al-Sayhud, said, “The decisions of the Accountability and Justice Commission are binding on the Election Commission, and therefore the checks on the CVs of candidates are carried out initially through the Commission, and then moved to the Accountability and Justice Commission to complete the procedures, and that it is one of the responsibilities of The Commission excluded any candidate who belonged to the Baath Party from the elections.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sayhoud added in an interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, “The government of Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani does not interfere with accountability and justice procedures, and its decisions are binding on the government as well.” Regarding the political agreement that included transferring the commission’s procedures to the judiciary, this matter is considered an integrated and participatory party responsibility, meaning that the parties participating in the government are responsible for that.”[/size]
[size=45]He explained that “those who object to the decisions of the Accountability and Justice Commission can file appeals and follow certain legal procedures that may contribute to resolving the problem, or may not be able to do so.”[/size]
[size=45]For his part, political activist Omar Farouk revealed that “the De-Baathification Commission, or what is known as Accountability and Justice, had to have a transitional work after the American occupation in 2003, and it is not reasonable for this body to continue in the same way of dealing with the Iraqis for 20 years.” There is a big difference between a leader in the Baath Party and a member whose membership was imposed on him.”[/size]
[size=45]In an interview with Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed, Farouk considered that “the exclusion of some candidates for the elections due to Baath accusations, 20 years after the end of the Baath Party’s rule in Iraq, represents a case of political punishment for those who do not submit, and for those who refuse to go along with the parties in power, and that this treatment “It will ultimately lead to social and political problems.”[/size]
[size=45]The eradication law was approved in 2005, two years after the American invasion of Iraq, and was stipulated in the Iraqi constitution. Its impact resulted in the dismissal of tens of thousands of Iraqis from their jobs, the confiscation of the property of thousands of others, and the referral of a section to the judiciary. However, several political blocs continue to demand new activations in it and to ensure its effectiveness in The upcoming local elections, with the aim of what it calls preventing Baathists from reaching Parliament.[/size]
[size=45]Provincial Council Elections:
The De-Baathification Commission, whose name was changed to the Accountability and Justice Commission, faces widespread accusations of selectivity in issuing exclusion or dismissal rulings from official institutions and departments, in response to pressure from influential forces at the political level.[/size]
[size=45]Iraq is scheduled to hold local elections on December 18, and these will be the first local elections held in Iraq since April 2013. The elected provincial councils are responsible for selecting the governor and the governorate’s executive officials, and they have the powers to dismiss, appoint, and approve the project plan according to the financial budget allocated to the governorate from The central government is in Baghdad, in accordance with the constitution.[/size]
[size=45]According to data from the Iraqi Election Commission, more than 23 million citizens are entitled to cast their votes in the provincial council elections, including more than 10 million people who have updated their electoral records so far.[/size]
[size=45]The Commission confirmed that 296 political parties organized into 50 alliances will participate in the elections, and candidates are competing for 275 seats, the total number of provincial council seats in general, 75 of which have been allocated within a quota for women and 10 seats for ethnic and religious minorities.[/size]
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