20 January 2010
Washington, DC—Iraq’s Supreme National Commission for Accountability and Justice has barred hundreds of legitimate candidates from running in upcoming parliamentary elections, perhaps at the behest of Tehran. The Commission is headed by Ahmad Chalabi, who has become close to the Iranian regime in recent years.
According to The Honorable Struan Stevenson, Member of the European Parliament and President of the Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq, “The exclusion of Dr. Salih Mutlaq, leader of the National Dialogue Front, from upcoming parliamentary elections is a haunting development.” Parliamentarian Stevenson added, “The true reason for his exclusion is an uncompromising position against the Iranian regime’s meddling in Iraq. The essence of this decision becomes evident as it coincided with a visit to Iraq by the Iranian Foreign Minister.”According to IPC President and former member of the National Security Council staff in the Executive Office of the President, Professor Raymond Tanter, “The most egregious ban is that of Dr. Salih Mutlaq, leader of the Iraqi National Dialogue Front in the Iraqi National Assembly. Mutlaq was the chief Sunni Arab participant in negotiations over the Iraqi Constitution; he encouraged Sunni participation in the electoral process and discouraged Sunnis from resorting to violence. Based on absurd allegations, discredited politicians like Ahmad Chalabi and other Iraqi surrogates of the Iranian regime are seeking to force Dr. Mutlaq from the Iraqi political system.”
According to Professor Tanter, “During a 2007 interview for the IPC book Baghdad Ablaze: How to Extinguish the Fires in Iraq, Dr. Mutlaq told me that among his highest priorities was the elimination of the Iranian regime’s negative influence on Iraqi politics.”
General Thomas McInerney (Lt Gen, US Air Force Ret, chair of the IPC Advisory Council), said, “Dr. Mutlaq has long campaigned against divisive schemes, such as separating Iraq along sectarian lines or instituting sectarian cabinet quotas. There is no doubt that Dr. Mutlaq’s outspokenness regarding Iranian regime infiltration of Iraq and his role as Prime Minister Maliki’s main political rival is motivating Tehran’s proxies to oust him.” R. Bruce McColm, former Executive Director of Freedom House, IPC Board of Directors said, “Rules of the game in democratic politics obligate those in power to refrain from excluding challengers. Banning political opponents, such as parliamentarian Salih Mutlaq, from the March 2010 elections in Iraq contributes to perceptions that the elections are rigged and plays into the hands of Iranian regime clerics whose hands may be behind the ban on Mutlaq.”
McColm added, “Based on field research in Iraq conducted by the Iran Policy Committee and reported in President Obama and Iraq: Toward a Responsible Troop Drawdown, if prominent Sunnis are barred from competing in elections by Iranian regime proxies, a renewed spate of sectarian violence is likely. This research indicates that to avoid such an outcome, the Obama Administration could keep the pressure on Baghdad to ensure that it follows democratic rules of the game.”
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