Election violations behind replacing police chief- paper

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The recent replacement of the Wassit police chief has escalated into charges of “political manipulation and improper campaigning,” two weeks ahead of provincial council elections, scheduled to be held in 14 out of 18 Iraqi provinces, The New York Times said on Sunday. “A day after Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki ordered the police chief in Wassit (Wassit) Province, Maj. Gen. Abdul Haneen al-Amara, to be replaced for failing to enforce election laws, the local provincial council rejected Mr. Maliki’s new choice,” according to a report published by the paper. “‘The appointment came 13 days before the elections, and that sounds odd,'” the newspaper quoted Naseer al-Haddad, a provincial council member from the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, a Shiite coalition that the newspaper said is a “rival of Mr. Maliki’s Dawa Party” as saying. “‘It also happened without consulting the provincial council and even occurred on a holiday Friday,'” Haddad added. “Sayyd Sattar al-Masqsusi, another member of the Wassit provincial council representing the secular Iraqiya Party, said the police chief’s replacement occurred at a particularly delicate time,” the newspaper said. “‘It’s really not good to replace him at this time,'” Mr. Masqsusi said. “‘We called the minister of the interior himself and he didn’t know about the replacement, and was as surprised as we are. Only God and Maliki know the reasons behind the change at this time.'” “Messages to the prime minister’s office asking for comment on Saturday were not returned,” the newspaper added. “The trouble started Dec. 20 when an official from Mr. Maliki’s governing Dawa Party reported seeing four police officers tearing down campaign posters of one candidate and pasting in their place the posters of a candidate representing Iraqiya. The new posters were for a candidate, Majid Latef al-Amara, who happened to be a cousin of the police chief. Both men are from the Amara tribe, a political power in the province. “The tribe is also well represented in Iraq’s Interior Ministry, which oversees the nation’s police forces. The prime minister and the interior minister, Jawad al-Bolani, have clashed politically in recent weeks.” “The removal of the campaign posters of political candidates has become a commonly reported problem in Iraq this election season. The cost of campaign posters is often the primary expense for political candidates here, and competition to place posters in prominent, heavily trafficked spots is fierce,” according to the report. “The Iraqi High Electoral Commission said last week that it had uncovered 45 cases of campaign violations, including tearing down posters, illegally using religious symbols in campaign advertisements and bribery,” it added. SS (I)/SR 1