Iraq Election Update – Mother Jones

Motherjones

Iraq Election Update – Mother Jones"


Play all audios:

Loading...

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free _Mother Jones Daily_. Last month about 500 allegedly Baathist Sunnis were banned from running


in Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections. Sunnis were pissed. But then, a week ago, an appeals court overturned the ban. The elections were saved! But no: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki,


after some pro forma attacks on American interference, at first tried to convene an emergency session of parliament to overrule the court but then switched gears: > Calls for the 


emergency session were later dropped after a highly > unusual meeting convened by Maliki with other key leaders and the > head of the Higher Judicial Council, Medhat al-Mahmoud. 


Following > the meeting, the appellate panel was directed to immediately > recommence its review of all case files with decisions having to be > announced prior to the start of the 


official electoral campaign > period on February 12. It appears, based on the public statements of > al-Maliki and others, that the impending decisions of the panel on > the 


de-Ba’athification status of these individuals will bring this > entire affair to a close. Needless to say, this is a …. _noteworthy_ …. amount of executive interference with the


judiciary. Marc Lynch is cautiously pessimistic: > I still expect this to work out in one way or the other and for the > elections to go ahead, and for some Sunni politicians to take


> advantage of any attempt by others to boycott. I don’t expect it > to lead directly to a return of the insurgency. But at the same > time, by this point significant damage has 


probably already been > done….Sunni-Shia resentments have been rekindled, with such > polarization evidently being seen as a winning electoral strategy in > certain quarters. Sunni 


participation may well be depressed, though > a full-out boycott is unlikely. The damage is likely to be measured > in increments, not in a single apocalyptic collapse. Gregg Carlstrom


is, I guess, slightly more pessimistic. But no one seems to think it spells doom. The election is on March 7.


Trending News

Linda Doyle

Environment Why Extinction Rebellion is demanding a citizens’ assembly to combat the climate crisis The UK public deserv...

Darfur peace accord fails to deliver

SCOTT SIMON, host: President Bush met with the Sudanese vice president, Salva Kiir, in Washington, D.C. this week to dis...

Internships and fellowships | veterans affairs

Applications Applications for the 2025-2026 training year are due no later than November 15, 2024.  Applicants should us...

Even the most successful women pay a big price

Joyce Chen had big plans for this year. She was working on multiple research projects with an eye on the prize: a promot...

Household estimates: mid-2014 - GOV.UK

Accredited official statistics HOUSEHOLD ESTIMATES: MID-2014 A report that includes information by household type, popul...

Latests News

Iraq Election Update – Mother Jones

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free _Mother Jones Daily_. Las...

Focal adhesion protein kindlin-2 regulates bone homeostasis in mice

ABSTRACT Our recent studies demonstrate that the focal adhesion protein Kindlin-2 is critical for chondrogenesis and ear...

'poo pills' to be given to nhs patients in bid to combat dangerous super bugs

THE SO-CALLED 'POO PILLS' ARE BEING TRIALLED BY UK DOCTORS IN A BID TO COMBAT THE RISING SURGE OF DANGEROUS SU...

No clear opening date for surrey road closed by lorry crash

A Shalford road is still closed after a vehicle crashed into a building last week. The Street (A281) has been shut since...

Prosecutor says former insys executives ‘put profit over people’

STAT+ Exclusive Story Already have an account? Log in THIS ARTICLE IS EXCLUSIVE TO STAT+ SUBSCRIBERS UNLOCK THIS ARTICLE...

Top