Iraq politicians back moves against election commission

By Ali Jawad and Muayad al-Tarfi

BAGHDAD

Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jubouri and Iyad Allawi, leader of Iraq’s Al-Wataniyya coalition, both voiced support Wednesday for recent steps by the government against members of the country’s official electoral commission.

On Tuesday, the government slapped a travel ban on commission members pending investigation into fraud allegations pertaining to Iraq’s May 12 parliamentary poll.

Baghdad also approved recommendations made by an official commission of inquiry calling for a partial vote recount and the annulment of a May 10 overseas vote.

“We were the first to demand full judicial supervision of the election rather than the adoption of politicized quotas when selecting electoral commission members,” Allawi said in a Wednesday statement.

“Events have proven the [commission’s] failure to manage the electoral process,” he added, going on to urge parliament to approve proposed amendments to Iraq’s electoral laws.

Al-Jubouri, meanwhile, likewise welcomed the government’s moves against electoral commission officials.

He, too, called on lawmakers to attend a Wednesday session of parliament that will see MPs vote on the proposed amendments, which -- if approved -- would allow for a manual vote recount.

On May 28, parliament annulled the May 10 overseas vote and called for a manual recount of roughly 10 percent of all ballots cast in the May 12 election.

One day later, electoral commission officials warned of “potential civil unrest” if poll results were overturned.

Muqtada al-Sadr, a prominent Shia cleric and politician, has said that parliament lacks the authority to annul election results.

Al-Sadr's Sairoon coalition won 54 parliamentary seats in the May 12 polls, followed by a Hashd al-Shaabi-linked coalition (47 seats) and Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi's Victory bloc (42 seats), according to official poll results.