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AMS
critical
of
Iraq
elections
Iraq's influential Association of Muslim Scholars has told Aljazeera that the low turnout by Sunni Arabs in elections was due to a lack of real choice and military occupation.
In
an
interview
broadcast
before
polling
stations
closed
on
Sunday,
Muhammad
al-Kubaysi
said
low
turnout
in
places
such
as
Baghdad,
Baquba
and
Samarra
could
have
been
prevented
if
there
had
been
more
time
to
create
a
genuine
election. "The
voter
goes
to
the
polling
stations
not
knowing
who
he
is
voting
for
in
the
first
place.
There
are
more
than
7700
candidates,
and
I
challenge
any
Iraqi
voter
to
name
more
than
half
a
dozen." He
also
criticised the huge
number
of
groups
on
voting
lists
in
which
it
was
virtually
impossible
to
know
who
was
standing
for
election
and
what
the
candidate's
background
was. "Their
names
have
not
been
announced
but
have
been
kept
secret
... elections
should
never
have
been
held
under
these
present
circumstances,"
he
said. "Even
80%
of
Iraqis
living
abroad
in
complete
safety
refused
to
register
their
names
[to
vote].
This
shows
that
the
low
turnout
in
many
areas
is
not
a
security
problem. "Rather,
it
demonstrates
a
growing
Iraqi
awareness
that
these
elections
are
indeed
an
American
and
not
Iraqi
initiative",
al-Kubaysi
said. Not
a
solution The
AMS
spokesman
added
that
it
would
be
wrong
for
the
US
to
assume
that
any
new
government
could
legitimise
the
continued
US
military
presence
in
the
region. "The
elections
are
not
a
solution
to
the
Iraqi
problem,
because
this
problem
is
not
an
internal
dispute
to
be
resolved
through
accords
and
elections.
It
lies
in
the
presence
of
a
foreign
power
that
occupies
this
country
and
refuses
even
the
mere
scheduling
of
the
withdrawal
of
its
forces
from
Iraq",
he
said. Al-Kubaysi
said
AMS
believed
political
consensus
among
Iraqi
parties
could
only
be
reached
once
the
foreign
military
presence
left
the
country
and
all
parties
had
to
rely
on
debate
rather
than
use
of
force. "We
have
consistently
argued
that
elections
can
only
occur
in
a
democracy
that
enjoys
sovereignty.
Our
sovereignty
is
incomplete.
Our
sovereignty
is
usurped
by
foreign
forces
that
have
occupied
our
land
and
hurt
our
dignity." Asked
whether
the
influential
group
was
looking
to
upset
a
transition
to
democracy
by
rejecting
elections,
al-Kubaysi
replied:
"These
elections
... are
a
means
of
establishing
the
foreign
forces
in
Iraq
and
keeping
Iraq
under
the
yoke
of
occupation.
They
should
have
been
postponed."
Aljazeera You
can
find
this
article
at: |
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