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Iraq recount to be delayed a week as votes of 52 candidates nullified

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The recount of votes cast in Baghdad province during the March 7 parliamentary elections will be delayed a week, according to an official on Monday. The Independent High Election Commission (IHEC) will not begin the recount until the review panel ordering the recount defines more precisely what a recount entails. Iyad Allawi, whose Iraqiya coalition garnered a slim two-seat lead over the State of Law coalition of incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, threatened to reject the recount if it only includes Baghdad. Also on Monday, an IHEC review panel nullified the votes of 52 candidates for alleged ties to Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, including two candidates that had won seats in the Iraqi Council of Representatives, at least one of which coming from Iraqiya. The uncertainty over the election results has jeopardized the US plan for withdrawal of combat troops by August, and has prompted the Obama administration to propose a coalition government between Maliki and Allawi, where each would hold the premiership for two years. The IHEC ordered a manual recount of the ballots in Baghdad last week, following fraud allegations. The election commissioner for the IHEC informed the public that the Baghdad recount would begin immediately, citing manipulation in voting stations. The State of Law coalition alleged fraud after a preliminary count showed the Iraqiya coalition held a slight lead. In February, an Iraqi appeals panel ruled that 28 of the 500 candidates previously banned due to allegations of ties to the Baath Party could stand in the election. The initial ban was characterized by the Iraqi government as illegal and was reversed when the panel acknowledged that it did not have to rule on all 500 candidates at once. This came as a reversal of a previous decision, where it held that the candidates could stand in the coming elections, but would have to be cleared of the allegations against them before taking office.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on April 26, 2010 (boomark / email).