» 04/29/2010 12:52 IRAQ Allawi calls for new election under UN, EU and Arab League supervision The leader of the secular Iraqiya coalition also wants a caretaker government to break the post-election stalemate. The vote recount sought by al Maliki has not yet begun. The unconstitutional Justice and Accountability Commission has banned 52 elected candidates with links to Saddam Hussein; its chairman is tied to Tehran.
Baghdad (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Iraqiya, the alliance of nationalist parties headed by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, wants new elections under close international supervision. In the meantime, a caretaker government should govern Iraq during the current political impasse.
Iraqiya said in a statement that the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, and the Arab League should intervene to break the stalemate that has blocked the post-election democratic process amid recriminations.
Iraqiya’s slim victory in the 7 March election was immediately challenged by outgoing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose Shia-dominated coalition won two seats fewer than Allawi's Iraqiya.
Al Maliki successfully sought a recount of votes in Baghdad, which has not yet been done. He has been helped in his goal of discrediting his adversaries by the Justice and Accountability Commission (the former de-Baathification commission), which has banned 52 newly elected members of parliament for their links to Saddam Hussein’s former party, Baa’th. Some of these ran under the Iraqiya banner, which includes a number of Sunnis.
Speaking about the Justice and Accountability committee (JAC), chaired by former deputy prime minister Ahmed Chalabi, who is pro-Tehran, Allawi told Iraq's al-Sharqiya channel, “It works without legal and constitutional cover, and this is not allowable in Iraq or any country that respects the independence of judicial authorities”.
“Certainly what is going on is a theft of the Iraqi will and democracy, jeopardising the safety of the country," Allawi added.
