January 22nd, 2010 by Jessica

A New York Times editorial comments on the turmoil caused by the disqualification of 511 candidates. Many of the candidates are Sunni Muslims, and the Times believes their disqualification raises questions of legality, impartiality, and transparency on the part of the government. Among the disqualified candidates are Defense Minister Abdul-Kader Jassem al-Obeidi and Saleh al-Mutlaq, an influential Sunni politician.

The editorial comments on the support given to the accountability and election commissions by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. Though in agreement that supporters of Saddam Hussein should be held accountable for past crimes, there is fear that the disqualifications are politically motivated. The accountability commission is spearheaded by Ali Faisal al-Lami, who is himself a candidate in the elections. The aforementioned candidate has strong ties to Shiite leader Ahmed Chalabi, a prominent force in Iraqi politics. The accountability commission staunchly maintains that disqualifications were made based on candidates’ ties to Hussein’s Ba’th Party. The NYT’s editorial praises the condemnation of many Iraqi citizens regarding the election commission’s procedures and their questions about the reasoning behind the disqualification.

Leila Fadel in an article for the Washington Post reports that Vice President Joseph Biden will visit Iraq in an attempt to diffuse the mounting tensions surrounding the March elections. Fadel expresses concern that the disqualifactions will serve to destabilize the Iraqi government just as the U.S. plans to diminish its military presence in the region. While Biden’s visit is openly welcomed by Iraq’s president, Talabani maintains that, “We are an independent country and will not receive orders from anyone, whether it is a brother Arab country, a neighboring country, or a friend. Mr. Biden made proposals, but we are committed to safeguard and uphold this consitution.” According to Fadel, the Obama administration my be concerned with the timeline of the elections given the growing tensions; if ballots are not printed within the next 10 days then the March elections may not take place.

A post with the Iraqpundit entitled, “Please Don’t Miss the Real Story,” responds to the NYT’s editorial suggesting that the it has overlooked the complexity of Iraqis. The author suggests that the NYT has misrepresented the situation and that while there were protests favoring the disqualification, there were also protests against that same decision. While the aforementioned issues are important, the article calls into sharp focus the issue of post election legitimacy. The author comments on an inherent a lack of integrity and with it a lack of trust in the system, as well as a belief that the election has been held in the most fair way possible. The article suggets that the media for the most part fails to account for the many Iraqis who want democracy and plan to vote for a strong, secular candidate with leadership qualities.

Posted in Elections, Iraq, Journalism, Sectarianism, Secularism, Uncategorized |