ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki accused parliament of trying to delay next month’s legislative elections, a day after the Iraqi High Electoral Commission (IHEC) resigned en-masse, apparently to protest a decision cancelling its powers to disqualify candidates.

“The government stands behind the Electoral Commission for whatever it needs, from money and facilities to contractual procedures to make everything ready for the elections,” Maliki said, after IHEC commissioners submitted their resignations in protest to legislative and executive pressures.

Maliki accused parliament of trying to delay the April polls.

The Iraqi parliament’s Kurdistan Alliance lamented that the commission has become a political victim. In the meantime, it accused unidentified parties of attempting to delay the polls.

In a statement, the US Embassy in Baghdad weighed in support for the commission and the democratic process.

“The United States fully supports Iraq’s democracy and democratic institutions as defined and established in the Iraqi Constitution, specifically Article 102, which provides for the independence and neutrality of the Independent High Electoral Commission,” the embassy said.

“We urge the commissioners to continue this important work, to ensure elections proceed as scheduled, and affirm that the United States will stand behind the full independence of IHEC over the weeks and months ahead,” it added.

The special representative of the United Nations secretary-general for Iraq (SRSG) Nickolay Mladenov hailed the professionalism of the IHEC and reaffirmed the UN’s full support. “The IHEC has demonstrated a high level of professionalism in planning and conducting complex elections, including the next Council of Representatives’ elections, despite security concerns,” he said in a statement posted on the UNAMI website.

“UNAMI reiterates its full support for the independence and the integrity of the IHEC, he added.

Meanwhile, Maliki said there was “a wave of anger” against some of the IHEC’s decisions, particularly over the disqualification of candidates.

“A wave of anger and resentment has risen from the decisions of the commission relating to the process of exclusion or admission of candidates, in accordance with powers granted to the commission, which is in accordance with the applicable law under which it operates."

"We cannot object to something now because this is part of the rights granted by the law," he noted.

Maliki urged those who think that there are flaws in the procedures to make new laws or amend the current ones.

He also denounced a decision that would force the IHEC to cancel its process of vetting candidates.

That would be, “a violation of the law, a violation of the authority of the judiciary, a violation of the authority of the IHEC and a dangerous behavior," he said.

The quarrel between parliament the executive and the IHEC began after the legislature decided on March 19 that the IHEC could not ban candidates who have court warrants against them.

Maliki said he fears "of attempts to postpone the elections.”

Iraqi political parties have accused the prime minister of settling political scores through banning candidates, believing that the government is behind the bans. The bans includes many candidates from the Iraqiya list of former premier Ayad Allawi and the Ahrar list of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

According to reports, some other political dissidents of the prime minister are among the banned candidates. The most notable one is Izzat Shabandar, a former close associate of the prime minister who broke away from him at the end of last year.

Rudaw