Dinar Iraq News
Iraq electoral commission retracts resignation before vote
BAGHDAD
Sun Mar 30, 2014 12:45pm
(Reuters) - Members of Iraq's electoral
commission retracted their resignations on Sunday, having threatened to
quit en masse in protest against political interference just one month
before a nationwide vote.
The entire board of the
Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) tendered its resignation
last week, further complicating the outlook for polls that have already
been clouded by violence across the country.
In a statement following a visit by the United Nations' envoy to Iraq, IHEC said: "The decision has been taken to withdraw the resignations and resume our duties in full confidence".
IHEC
said it had found itself caught between conflicting rulings from
parliament and the judiciary regarding the exclusion of certain
candidates from the election, due on April 30.
Members
of the commission said the conflict stemmed from divergent
interpretations of the electoral law, which includes a clause allowing
for candidates "of ill repute" to be barred from taking part.
Critics
of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have accused him of using the law to
eliminate his political rivals to help clear the way for his third term.
"I
welcome the decision by the Election Commissioners to withdraw
resignations so that parliamentary vote can take place on April 30,"
wrote U.N. envoy to Iraq Nikolay Mladenov on Twitter.
Source:
http://www.reuters.com
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