Top Iraq court orders manual poll count

BAGHDAD, June 21, (Agencies): Iraq’s supreme court on Thursday ordered a manual recount of May 12 legislative elections, a process expected to take weeks although parliament’s mandate runs out at the end of this month.

The recount due to suspicions of electoral fraud, however, would not significantly affect the overall outcome, according to experts on Iraqi politics.

The court ruled that parliament’s decision on June 6 to order a manual recount in response to allegations of irregularities did not violate the constitution, its president Medhat al-Mahmud told a news conference.

All of the roughly 11 million ballots, including those of voters living abroad, displaced persons and security forces, must be recounted, he said, referring to the three categories whose results MPs had decided to annul because they were allegedly the most suspect.

Last month’s ballot was won by cleric populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr’s electoral alliance with communists, as long-time political figures were pushed out by voters seeking change in a country mired in conflict and corruption.

The result was contested — mainly by the political old guard — following allegations of fraud in the election, Iraq’s first since the defeat of the Islamic State (IS) group.

According to intelligence services, tests of electronic voting machines — used for the first time in Iraqi elections — produced varied results, appearing to give credence to the fraud claims.

The vote saw a record number of abstentions as Iraqis snubbed the corruption-tainted elite that has dominated the country since the US-led invasion of 2003 toppled Saddam Hussein.

Many of Iraq’s longtime political figures — seemingly irremovable since the dictator’s fall — were pushed out of their seats by new faces.

The supreme court, whose rulings are final, also ratified parliament’s decision to dismiss Iraq’s ninemember electoral commission and have them replaced by judges.

The United Nations said it was ready to help and advise electoral authorities and called on all sides to respect the law and resolve their differences peacefully.

UN Iraq envoy Jan Kubis said in a statement he was “confident” authorities would find ways to recount the vote quickly and “in a fully transparent way, that will increase public confidence in the election process.”

The recount is unlikely to produce a major change in the number of seats won by rival lists, according to experts, but rather modify the rankings of candidates within the same lists.

“The major blocs could win or lose three seats,” said judicial expert Haidar al-Soufi.

Tarek al-Marmouri, another expert, said that even if a manual recount takes weeks, “there will be a legislative but no constitutional vacuum” because Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s government would stay on in a caretaker capacity.

When Sadr’s bloc scooped the most seats in May’s election it was seen as a blow for Tehran, long the dominant foreign player in conflict-hit Iraq.

The Shiite firebrand had railed against both the influence of Iran and the United States, even drawing closer to Tehran’s arch-foe Saudi Arabia.

But on June 13, he announced an alliance with proIranian Hadi al-Ameri, head of a rival list made up of former members of the mainly Shiite paramilitary units which defeated the IS jihadists.

It is in the multi-ethnic, oil-rich northern province of Kirkuk that the challenge to the election results has been the strongest — and the most potentially explosive.

Kirkuk’s population — majority Kurdish but with sizeable Arab and Turkmen minorities — pushed Iraqi authorities to impose a curfew on the night of the results.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday urged Iraq’s judiciary to deal with foreign women and children affiliated with the Islamic State group on a case-by-case basis instead of slapping them with “one size

fits all” sentences.

Since January, HRW said Iraq’s judiciary had “proceeded with rushed trials against foreigners on charges of illegal entry and membership in or assistance” to IS.

It said most foreign women had been sentenced to death or life in prison and children aged nine and above to between five and 15 years in jail for taking part in violent acts.

The New York-based watchdog called on Iraq to change its approach.

“Iraq’s ‘one size fits all’ approach to women who travelled to live under ISIS or to children whose parents brought them along is producing unjust outcomes in many instances,” HRW’s terrorism and counter-terrorism director Nadim Houry said in a statement.

“Iraqi justice should take into account their individual circumstances and actions and give priority to prosecuting the most serious crimes while exploring alternatives for lesser ones.”

More than 300 people — including some 100 foreign women — have been sentenced to death in Iraq, and as many to life terms, for joining IS, judicial sources say.

Most of the convicted women are Turkish or from former Soviet republics.

In its statement, Human Rights Watch said sentences “should be proportionate to the crimes committed”.

It said the “broad prosecution under terrorism charges of all those affiliated with ISIS... could lead to unfair results and ultimately dilute responsibility for the horrible crimes committed by ISIS.”

HRW called on Iraq’s judiciary to pursue the most serious crimes while exploring alternatives for lesser ones.

It said children should only be incarcerated as a last resort, and that the alternatives included “rehabilitative measures” with the aim of reintegrating them into society.

In other news, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has again asserted that Turkish jets have dealt a heavy blow on the outlawed Kurdish rebels’ leadership in Iraq, saying some 35 high-level militants were killed.

Addressing crowds during a campaign rally on Thursday, Erdogan said Turkish warplanes recently struck Iraq’s Qandil mountain while a group of 35 senior militants were holding a meeting. He did not provide details.

Qandil, near Iraq’s border with Iran, is where the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, maintains its headquarters.

Erdogan said: “We caught them during their leaders’ meeting. During this leaders’ meeting, we finished off 35 important names.”

In Iraq, a PKK spokesman, Serhet Varto, confirmed heavy Turkish airstrikes in the area but denied they had caused any casualties.

The claims could not be in verified independently.