BAGHDAD - Iraqi officials confirmed on Saturday that appeals by prominent Sunni politicians against a move to ban them from next month's election had failed, opening the door to sectarian recriminations that could mar the vote. Many Iraqi Sunnis are alarmed by a campaign by the Shi'ite-led government against people accused of links to former Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein's Baath party, and a decision by a panel to ban almost 500 candidates because of Baathist links. The controversy has threatened to reopen old wounds just when the sectarian slaughter triggered by the 2003 US invasion has begun to fade and Iraq has started to attract multibillion-dollar investments from global oil firms. Usama al-Ani, deputy head of the independent electoral commission, or IHEC, said the agency had received a formal notification from an appeals panel that only 26 appeals by banned candidates had been successful. One hundred and forty-five appeals were rejected, he said. Other candidates had been voluntarily replaced by their parties. "Among those whose appeals were rejected were Saleh al-Mutlaq and Dhafer al-Ani," said Ani, referring to two Sunni politicians who are among the most prominent Sunnis in Iraq. The furor over the banned candidates has come to dominate the campaign for the March 7 parliamentary election, which kicked off officially on Friday. The election will determine who runs Iraq as US troops prepare to withdraw by the end of 2011 and massive oil sector projects kick into gear. If broadly accepted, the vote could help to heal the rift between Sunni and Shi'ite; if it is viewed as unfair by Sunnis, it could lead to more bloodshed and strife.
