The Iraqi political arena is witnessing a heated electoral struggle, which has reached a bone-breaking stage, according to political specialists, who considered that the process of excluding candidates from the elections and returning others to the electoral race is part of the struggle to reach the House of Representatives through the ballot boxes.
The Independent High Electoral Commission in Iraq announced the exclusion of many candidates from the upcoming parliamentary elections, noting that this was due to various reasons. Read also For a safe participation in the polls.. this is how the fears of Iraqi women candidates for the early elections are dispelled Watch.. Iraqi activists are looking to reach parliament to achieve the goals of the protest movement The Iraqi president considers reform everyone’s responsibility, and elections are a necessity Many obstacles are encountering.. Will the Iraqi elections take place on time, mid-2021?
affiliation
to the mission
Candidates said that they were surprised by the process of being excluded from the elections on the pretext of belonging to the Baath Party (which is the Arab Socialist Baath Party, which ruled Iraq for about 35 years and was overthrown in 2003), such as the activist in popular protests, Abu Ayham al-Iraqi from Muthanna Governor ate (southern of the country), who said Through his Facebook account, he is surprised by his affiliation with the Baath Party, considering his exclusion as political targeting because of the support he enjoys from the demonstrators.
The head of the Iraq Awakening Conference, Ahmed Abu Risha, was surprised by the exclusion of the Nineveh candidate, Khaled Sultan (son of Sultan Hashem Ahmed, the last Iraqi defense minister under the late President Saddam Hussein), from the electoral race.
Abu Risha tweeted on his Twitter account, “Whoever uprooted Captain Hussein Saeed after a football match in the seventies, do not be surprised by him removing candidate Khaled Sultan Hashem from participating in the elections. Neither the attacker with hate is free, nor the one who defended the country.”
Back to the race
On the other hand, the Iraqi judiciary returned the head of the National Masses Party, Ahmed Abdullah al-Jubouri, to the electoral race, and he was excluded earlier by the Electoral Commission.
Iraqis circulated a picture of al-Jubouri, accompanied by Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi and two of his close associates, noting that al-Jubouri returned to the elections through political mediation.
Al-Jubouri said through his Twitter account, “Thank you to the judiciary and the Election Commission, and thanks to our people who know the truth and follow the best. You know our positions and our ability to curb anger and not compromise.”
exclusion criterion
In a legislative development, today, Thursday, the Supreme Judicial Council set the criterion for excluding a candidate from participating in the upcoming elections.
He explained – in a statement – that the candidate is required to be not convicted of a felony or misdemeanor dishonorable or illegally enriched at the expense of public money by a final court ruling, even if it includes a pardon.
The statement clarified that the basic criterion for excluding a candidate from participating in the elections is that the crime for which he is convicted is a crime against honor, noting that these crimes are specified under the provisions of Article (21/6) of Penal Code No. 111 of 1969, which are (theft, embezzlement, forgery, breach of trust and fraud). bribery and indecent assault) in addition to other crimes described as dishonorable by the issuance of legislative decisions describing them as dishonorable.
The Board of the Electoral Commission earlier excluded 20 candidates, only 10 of whom submitted an appeal against the decision of the Board, and the judiciary approved the decision to exclude 5 of them for being convicted of crimes against honor, while 5 decisions of others convicted of crimes related to employees exceeding the limits of their job duties were overturned. Which is not considered a crime against honor according to the provisions of the laws in force.
About 3,552 candidates are running in the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for October 10, including 982 women.