Maliki to Biden: Accountability, justice law applied in accordance with constitution

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Saturday told U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who is currently on a visit to the country, that his government had applied the Accountability and Justice Law in accordance with the constitution. “The Accountability and Justice Law has been applied in accordance with constitutional and legal processes. It included all lists running in the election and did not target a specific party as some people allege,” Maliki said during his meeting with Biden, according to a statement released by his media office and received by IraqiNews.com news agency. The Accountability and Justice Commission had banned 511 candidates from running in the upcoming parliamentary election, citing their alleged affiliation to the dissolved Baath Party. Those banned included the head of the National Dialogue Front, Saleh al-Mutlak. The commission’s decision has evoked varied reactions in Iraq and the United States. In a phone call with Iraqi Parliament Speaker Iyad al-Samarraie, Biden suggested that those candidates who have been barred should disavow and condemn the Baath party and be allowed to run in the election. SS (P) 4