VP says accountability, justice issue should be resolved according to constitution

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdulmahdi has called for a constitutional solution to the issue of those included in the accountability and justice committee’s decision. “This evening, Abdulmahdi received the special representative of the UN secretary general for Iraq, Ad Melkert, and discussed with him the recent developments on the Iraqi political scene, particularly those related to the upcoming legislative election and the decision of the Accountability and Justice Commission to ban a number of candidates from running in the election,” according to a statement released by his 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 Samarraie, Biden had 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