Iraqi VP visits Syria ahead of elections

Iraqi Vice President has arrived in Damascus as Iraq’s relations with its neighbors have emerged as an influential factor in the country’s upcoming elections.

Al Hashimi is expected to discuss Iraq’s March 7 parliamentary elections with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his three-day visit to Iraq.

He says he has a message from the Iraqi government for Assad. The Iraqi vice-president is also expected to meet with representatives of his country’s expatriates ahead of Iraq’s March 7 parliamentary polls.

Some 800,000 Iraqi nationals live in Syria.

The eagerly-anticipated poise is seen as an acid test for the reconciliation between Shia and Sunni politicians in the Iraqi parliament.

High ranking officials, including Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have warned of obtrusive efforts by outlawed Baath Party loyalists to disturb the electoral process.

More than 500 candidates have been disqualified from taking part in the event due to their alleged links to the party which was once led by the deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

The Baath Party members are infamous for enforcing Saddam’s ruthless rule over the country, which included mass killings of dissidents, chemical bombings against Kurdish towns and executions of suspected opponents.