BAGHDAD, Jan 20 (AFP): Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki Tuesday denied the war-torn nation's Sunni minority was being targeted by a blacklist that has barred more than 500 candidates from its March 7 general election.
"I deny that the Sunnis are being targeted. The Sunnis will be much more important partners this time than at the last election," Maliki, a Shiite, said in an interview on the state run Al-Iraqiya television channel.
"Yes, there are a lot of Sunnis (on the election blacklist) but there are maybe more Shiites," he said, pointing out that 70 per cent of the outlawed Baath party's membership was Shiite.
The premier, however, defended a controversial process that has seen 511 candidates said to have links to the Baath party or military and intelligence apparatus of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein banned from the upcoming poll.
Only the 'criminals' and 'murderers' of the Baath regime will be adversely affected, Maliki said, by a process which has seen the names given to the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), Iraq's election organiser.
"The (Iraqi) constitution prevents the existence of this organisation just as European countries prohibit Nazis from taking part in the political process," he added.
Maliki denies Sunni purge ahead of polls
FE Team | Published: January 21, 2010 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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