Iraq election unrest with Baath party, Sunnis and Shiite

[Anthea]

250 candidates banned from Iraqi election

Over 250 candidates who had previously registered to campaign in the upcoming Iraqi provincial council elections have been banned from participating, the country’s electoral body told Rudaw on Monday

A source from Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) told Rudaw that 255 candidates have been expelled from the Iraqi provincial council elections, 197 of which for suspected links to the Baath Party.

“197 candidates have been expelled by the Board of Accountability and Judiciary; 56 of them for criminal cases, one candidate for corruption, and another candidate for terrorism,” Emad Jamil, head of the media team at IHEC, told Rudaw’s Hastyar Qadir.

IHEC has announced that the candidates for the provincial council elections will be determined within this week.

The Baath party of former dictator Saddam Hussein is banned in Iraq. Article 7 in the Iraqi constitution prohibits adopting, glorifying or promoting symbols and propaganda from the regime

Iraq will hold provincial council elections on December 18, the first of their kind since 2013. The councils, created by the 2005 Iraqi constitution following the fall of Hussein, are powerful bodies that hold significant power in the country, including setting the budgets for several sectors such as education, health, and transport.

The elections will take place across federal Iraq and exclude the provinces of the Kurdistan Region.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/16102023

[Anthea]

Dozens Promoting Saddam’s Regime

Iraq's national security agency on Tuesday announced the arrest of at least 75 individuals on charges of promoting the former Baathist regime, which is banned under Iraqi law

In a statement, the agency reported conducting an extensive campaign across various provinces, driven by accurate intelligence information regarding individuals advocating for the banned party.

"The National Security Service detachments were able to arrest 75 people for spreading propaganda promoting and glorifying the defunct regime," the Iraqi News Agency reported today, citing a statement from the country's national security agency.

The detained individuals had circulated photos and videos on social media, advocating for the banned Baathist regime across the country, including in the provinces of Nineveh, Diyala, Anbar, Salahaddin, and Qadisiyah, according to the statement.

The agency emphasized that the arrests were carried out in accordance with judicial orders and the legal provisions related to the ban on the party. All the individuals taken into custody have now been referred to the judiciary.

The Iraqi constitution prohibited Saddam Hussein's Baath party in 2005, and subsequently in 2016, when the parliament passed a law criminalizing both membership in and promotion of the party.

During the reign of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime, a series of notorious kidnappings, disappearances, and mass killings targeted thousands of innocent Kurds. This brutal campaign resulted in the displacement of tens of thousands of Kurds and the destruction of numerous villages across Kurdistan. Saddam Hussein even resorted to using prohibited weapons of mass destruction, specifically targeting ethnic Kurds.

Throughout Saddam Hussein's rule, the Kurdish population endured multiple genocidal campaigns, with one of the most tragic incidents being the Halabja chemical attack, which tragically claimed the lives of more than 5,000 innocent people.

Additionally, thousands of Kurds faced mass abduction and subsequent execution in the Anfal campaign during the 1980s, including the loss of 8,000 Barzanis. The infamous Anfal campaign, responsible for the deaths of 182,000 Kurds, remains a dark chapter in the history of the country.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/828011

[Anthea]

Halbousi’s parliamentary membership

Iraqi Federal Supreme Court on Tuesday terminated the parliamentary membership of the powerful Sunni politician Mohammed al-Halbousi, ending his tenure as the speaker of the legislature. The move comes about one month before local elections

The federal court’s decision came after another Sunni parliamentarian Laith al-Dulaimi filed a lawsuit against Halbousi, accusing him of forging an official document.

Halbousi is the head of the Taqadum Party, the largest Sunni bloc in the parliament.

Dulaimi, who was expelled from the party last year for failing to follow its rules, claimed in his lawsuit that Halbousi faked his parliamentary resignation in 2022.

The top court also approved Dulaimi’s resignation from the parliament.

Only members of the legislature can be appointed as the speaker of the legislature.

Halbousi was re-elected as the speaker of the parliament in September last year. He is also a former governor of Iraq’s Sunni-majority Anbar province.

Speaking during a parliamentary session on Tuesday, Halbousi deemed the ruling "weird," adding that he will "resort to measures to preserve constitutional rights" without elaborating.

Iraq will hold provincial council elections on December 18, the first of their kind since 2013. The term of the electoral commission is set to expire on December 7. If the parliament fails to extends the commission's term before this date, the fragile vote could be further delayed.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/141120231

[Anthea]

Largest Sunni party

withdraw from government

The influential Sunni Taqadum Party on Tuesday announced its withdrawal from the Iraqi government following the dismissal of its leader Mohammed al-Halbousi from the parliament by Iraq’s top court earlier in the day

The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court ruled to revoked Halbousi’s parliamentary membership and end his tenure as the speaker of the legislature after he was accused of forging a document.

Taqadum Party, which is the largest Sunni bloc at the parliament, said in a statement late Tuesday that it has decided to withdraw from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s cabinet, ordering planning, industry and tourism and culture ministers to resign.

It added that it will no longer attend meetings with the ruling State Administration Coalition, which is dominated by Shiite parties and includes Kurdish largest parties as well.

Taqadum parliamentarians will resign from parliamentary committees and will boycott the legislature’s future sessions, stated the party.

The court ruling came after another Sunni parliamentarian and former member of the Taqadum Party Laith al-Dulaimi filed a lawsuit against Halbousi, accusing him of forging his resignation from the parliament in 2022.

Halbousi was re-elected as the speaker of the parliament in September last year. He is also a former governor of Iraq’s Sunni-majority Anbar province.

Speaking during a parliamentary session on Tuesday, Halbousi deemed the court ruling "weird," adding that he will "resort to measures to preserve constitutional rights" without elaborating.

Iraq will hold provincial council elections on December 18, the first of their kind since 2013. The term of the electoral commission is set to expire on December 7. If the parliament fails to extends the commission's term before this date, the fragile vote could be further delayed.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/141120232