Iraq: Candidate Killed Ahead of Next Month’s Election

Suha Abdul Jarallah, a female candidate in next month’s parliamentary election, was killed this morning, in what many suspect is a politically motivated assassination. The UN News Centre reports that Jarallah was gunned down outside of a family member’s home, days before she was to begin her official campaigning for the March 7th election. One of her relatives was quoted in the Digital Journal as saying, “these are independent and national people who are targeted to prevent them from standing in the general election.”  The assassination was strongly condemned by Special Representative of the United Nations Ad Melkert, “Campaign violence in Iraq must not be allowed to intimidate candidates or interfere with the right of every Iraqi to exercise their vote.”

Jarallah’s death follows a recent visit to the United States by Vice President Tareq al-Hashimi to discuss some 500 banned candidates in the Iraqi election, according to an article in the Daily Star.  A recent reinstatement of many of the banned candidates appears to have been generally supported by the Obama administration.  The reinstatement was contested by some members of the government who stood to benefit, but al-Hashimi has urged those in opposition to the appeal committee’s edict, to accept their decision and allow the elections to proceed as scheduled.