Iraq: New Violence Reaction to Ban on Parliamentary Candidates?

The New York Times reports on yesterday’s suicide bombing on the outskirts of Baghdad, in which approximately 38 people were killed and many more wounded. Despite official pledges to increase security surrounding the annual pilgrimage, the Times quotes one of the wounded victims, “The security forces are responsible because they were not searching anyone.” In response to the attack, Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta al-Moussawi announced that some 134 soldiers and officers would face charges of dereliction of duty and negligence possibly resulting in their court martial, though several accounts of the incident indicate that the bomb was detonated in an area where women were being searched.

Though no one has claimed responsibility, Iraqpundit suggests that the attack, aimed at Shi’a pilgrims, is an escalation of tensions related to the parliamentary elections scheduled for March. He theorizes that the attacks are in response to the exclusion from the upcoming elections of more than 500 candidates based on religious affiliations. The author questions the wisdom of the U.S. and UN position that the Iraq elections are an internal problem, pointing out that submitting to the power of a few corrupt individuals within the government may shift Iraq’s democracy “into another farce of a political system like other countries that claim to be democratic in the region.”

News of the attacks coincide with reports that prominent candidate Sheikh Ahmad Abu Risha has threatened to boycott the upcoming election in response to the governments ban of 500 candidates from the ballot.  Abu Risha is the head of the Sahwa, or Awakening, and one of the strongest U.S. allies in the region.  An AP report quotes Abu Risha on Iraqi participation in the election should so many remain banned from the election, “They will not care about the election – they will ignore it, maybe if these decisions stand.” While some of the 500 candidates have been reinstated, some 456 remain banned. Of those, seven belong to Abu Risha’s Awakening Council and 70 others are candidates within the Unity Alliance of Iraq political coalition, which Abu Risha also helps lead.