Iraq’s Allawi rejects partial vote recount only in Baghdad
Ayad Allawi, whose joint Shiite-Sunni bloc won the largest number of parliamentary seats in Iraq’s general election in late March, said Monday he would not accept a partial vote recount only in Baghdad because this process could be open to fraud.
“A recount only in Baghdad is unacceptable,” Allawi told Hürriyet Daily News & Review in an interview during a brief visit to Ankara for talks with top Turkish officials. “We need to know where (vote) boxes are… We won’t accept fraud.”
He said election results were also disputed in many other Iraqi provinces, including Basra, Najaf, Mosul and Kirkuk and a recount, if one can be done, should cover all such areas.
As a secular-minded Shiite politician, Allawi leads the Iraqiya coalition that brings together Sunni Arab groups, some Shiites and Turkmen. Iraqiya won the most seats in last month’s parliamentary elections. That would allow him to have the first chance at trying to form a coalition government.
But last week, an Iraqi court announced it would grant the request of incumbent Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to manually recount the votes in Baghdad.
Political stalemate
In last month’s elections, Allawi’s Iraqiya won 91 seats and al-Maliki’s group got 89, out of a total of 325 seats. The two other large groups include a more radical Shiite coalition and Kurds.
Allawi warned against the continuation of the political stalemate in Iraq. “Unless this is resolved, the country will be thrown into deep problems, with extreme forces getting into the action,” he said.
Last Friday, 72 people were killed in Iraq’s bloodiest day of the year so far, as mosques, shops and the office of an influential Shiite cleric were bombed. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombings, but authorities have blamed al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Because of his moderate views and his ability to bring together Sunnis and Shiites in his coalition, Allawi has the tacit support of Turkey and the United States. Sunni Arab countries of the region also highly favor him. Iran, however, strongly opposes Allawi for his close Western ties.
Allawi met with President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara on Monday. He is scheduled to visit Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates during the rest of the week.
Turkey’s role
Allawi praised Turkey’s role in the Middle East and its contributions to Iraq. “Turkey is playing a very important role for the stability of the region. The region should be in harmony to assist with stability in Iraq,” he said. “We have very close and good ties with Turkey.”
Allawi said if he becomes prime minister, he would not allow the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, to use Iraqi territory to harm Turkey. “The PKK is an internal problem of Turkey… But Iraq will prevent its territory from being used against Turkey,” he said.
After the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq to depose former leader Saddam Hussein, Allawi became Iraq’s interim prime minister in May 2004. After parliamentary elections in 2005, he was replaced as prime minister by the Shiite Ibrahim al-Jaafari.
Although Allawi originally was a member of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party, he cut his links in the early 1970s and flew to Britain to complete his education as a medical doctor. He survived assassination attempts in 1978, 2004 and 2005.
Source: Hurriyet Daily News by ÜMİT ENGİNSOY
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=iraqs-allawi-rejects-partial-vote-recount-only-in-baghdad-2010-04-26