April 28, 2010Allawi says new Iraq polls may be needed ...
BAGHDAD - Iraq's general election winner Iyad Allawi on Wednesday said new parliamentary polls run by international monitors might be needed to end concerted efforts from rivals who want to reverse his victory.
A statement from Allawi's Iraqiya coalition said it has considered asking the United Nations, the European Union, and the Arab League to intervene amid bitter recriminations that have blocked democratic progress since the March 7 vote.
Allawi, a former premier, says his rivals are trying to change the result, through a Baghdad recount and also by the intervention of a controversial committee that disqualified dozens of his candidates after the election.
Iraqiya's strong backing in Sunni Arab areas allowed Allawi, a Shiite, to defeat incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, also Shiite, 91 seats to 89, according to unofficial results.
Both need 163 seats to form a majority government but coalition talks with smaller parties appear to have stalled, leaving the country far from ready to seat a new government.
The Baghdad recount, which has yet to get under way, followed an appeal by Maliki on the grounds that electoral violations cost him votes.
Iraqiya leaders said they would send a letter to the head of Iraq's top court, the Supreme Judicial Council, "stressing the urgency of his intervention to protect the judiciary from political influence, as this may have serious ramifications on the stability of the country."
At the centre of the dispute is the Justice and Accountability committee (JAC), chaired by former deputy prime minister Ahmed Chalabi, who won a seat in last month's election and is a leading member of a rival coalition.
"We have fears that this committee is trying to obstruct the formation of the next parliament, through continuing its random eradication policy, without proof and without taking people to court," Allawi told Sharqiya television.
The same committee's executive chairman in Ali al-Lami, a Chalabi ally who failed to win a seat.
"It works without legal and constitutional cover, and this is not allowable in Iraq or any country that respects the independence of judicial authorities," Allawi added.
Iraqiya said it had "examined the option of resorting to the international community," including the members of the (UN) Security Council, EU, and states of the Arab League "to exercise their moral and legal right over the protection of the political process from any injustices and to form a caretaker government and repeat the elections in an environment free of any political manipulation."
Such intervention would be feasible as Iraq remains under the reach of Chapter Seven of the UN charter, which sets out the security council's powers to maintain peace. Iraq was put into Chapter Seven status after now executed dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990.
An election official late Tuesday said a ruling on whether a further nine election-winning candidates would be disqualified had been postponed until next week, in another hold-up. The candidates are variously accused of links to Saddam's outlawed Baath party and military units during his reign.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday urged Iraqi leaders to resolve their rows and form a new government quickly.
The lack of a government almost seven weeks after the election has alarmed Washington, which plans to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq by August, ahead of a complete US military pullout at the end of 2011.
Maktoob.com
CARETAKER GOVERNMENT:
In politics, a caretaker government rules temporarily. A caretaker government is often set up following a war until stable democratic rule can be restored, or installed, in which case it is often referred to as a provisional government. In some countries (including Australia and New Zealand) the term is used to describe the government that operates in the interim period between the normal dissolution of parliament for the purpose of holding an election and the formation of a new government after the election results are known. (See also Caretaker government of Australia.)
Caretaker governments may also be put in place when a government in a parliamentary system is defeated in a motion of no confidence, or in the case when the house to which the government is responsible is dissolved, to rule the country for an interim period until an election is held and a new government is formed. This type of caretaker government is adopted in Bangladesh where an advisor council led by the former chief judge rules the country for three months before an elected government takes over. In systems where coalition governments are frequent a caretaker government may be installed temporarily while negotiations to form a new coalition take place. This usually occurs either immediately after an election in which there is no clear victor or if one coalition government collapses and a new one must be negotiated.
