500 Candidates Barred From Iraq Election

Iraq's election commission has barred almost 500 candidates from running in national elections on 7 March.

A committee that vets candidates says some of those banned had ties to the outlawed Baath party, once led by Saddam Hussein.

Those barred are believed to include prominent Sunni Arab politicians. The formal list of barred candidates has not been released.

There is a formal process through which barred candidates can appeal.

Defence Minister Abdulqadir al-Obeidi and the nationalist politician Saleh al-Mutlak are reported to be among the 499 candidates barred from standing in the parliamentary election on 7 March.

Mr Obeidi was intending to run as a candidate for Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's State of Law coalition.

Saleh al-Mutlak is an MP and heads the Iraqi Front for National Dialogue, which performed well in last years local elections in Sunni Arab areas.

Mr Mutlak, a former Baath party member, has formed an electoral alliance with other prominent Sunni politicians and the former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

The decisions were partly made by the Justice and Accountability Commission, which is responsible for ensuring the outlawed Baath party does not make a comeback in Iraqi politics.

Some analysts have criticised the body and the election commission for its alleged partiality and ties to Shia religious parties

Looks to me as if the British and US governments are manipulating the Iraqi election for their own gains, surely they cannot let the Iraqi people have a democratic say in their own futures as they may elect someone who are not to the Occupiers liking.
Some candidates have pasts in the Baath party - so what? Did everyone involved in the Nazi Party in Germany or Fascist Party in Italy get banned from ever running from public office? Especially with a party like the Baath party, where I imagine membership were key and vital to your security and future prosperity.
I predict many Sunni citizens in Iraq will boycott the election as they did in 2005, leading to a more unfair society and more violence.
As the Communist Party of Iraq collabarates with the occupier, I will be supporting the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq