Iraq delays ruling on candidates ban

An Iraqi judicial panel postpones until Wednesday a ruling on the fate of nine winning candidates who allegedly had ties to former dictator Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party.

The judicial panel was due to decide on Tuesday if nine candidates should be barred from taking up seats in parliament.

“Discussions took place but there will be no decision today. It will be tomorrow,” said Ali Mahmud, spokesman for Justice and Accountability Committee (JAC) on Tuesday.

The panel invalidated votes cast for around 50 candidates in the March 7 elections, among them one had been barred by the three-judge panel from taking seat in parliament.

The ruling, however, drew anger from former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, whose bloc won a slim victory over incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s bloc.

One of those disqualified candidates was from Allawi’s Iraqiya bloc. He vowed to launch an appeal against the decision.

Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) banned almost 500 candidates from participation in the parliamentary elections for alleged links with the Baath Party in February.