BAGHDAD, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- The director of the vetting committee for Iraq's parliamentary elections denied he was influenced by Iranian elites in his decision to ban political players.
Iraq's Justice and Accountability Commission, a body tasked with preventing Baath Party members from returning to power, dismissed hundreds of candidates from taking part in the parliamentary election March 7.
The commission faced charges that the decision was a political move meant to disqualify leading Sunni figures from taking part in a challenge against Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. A spokesman for the commission maintains they were acting under the authority of Iraqi law, denying the allegations of bias.
In an interview with London's Asharq al-Awsat, JAC Executive Director Ali al-Lami denied Western charges that his decisions were based on the influence of the Shiite elites in Iran.
"I do not and have never worked for any foreign party, and I do not have any political agenda," he said.
Iraq's president and vice presidents said they would take the matter to the courts in order to reverse the decision.
The commission retracted recently, reinstating 59 candidates for the March election. Among those reinstated were Yassin Mutlaq, the brother of influential Sunni leader Saleh Mutlaq who was barred from competing in March.
