Free Elections in Iraq? To run for a seat in the Iraqi National Assembly
in the elections scheduled for January, candidates must meet conditions
set by the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq that are far more
severe than any requirements for election to the U.S. Congress or most
other elected bodies in this country. For example, candidates must have
"at least a secondary school diploma or equivalent," a "good
reputation" and not been convicted of "a crime involving moral
turpitude," according to the regulations of the Independent Electoral
Commission of Iraq (IECI). In addition, candidates cannot have been a
member of Saddam Hussein's secret police, nor "contributed to or
participated in the persecution of citizens," nor have made money "in
an illegitimate manner at the expense of the homeland and public
finance." The regulations are based on sections of the Transition
Administrative Law (TAL), drafted under the direction of then-Iraqi
Coalition Provisional Authority administrator, L. Paul Bremer III. They
have raised concerns among U.N. and U.S. officials that Iraq's interim
government may try to eliminate candidates through pressure on the
electoral commission, whose members were selected by the United Nations
but approved by the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council. [more]
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