The heated competition that has accompanied various elections in Iraq since 2003 has reached the Iraq Bar Association polls, set for Thursday.
The tensions were so high that actual physical scuffles took place between rival candidates at the association’s headquarters in Baghdad on Monday.
Observers speculated over the reasons of the unprecedented unrest, with some accusing the current association council and its head Ahlam al-Lami of corruption. Others blamed the scuffles on the rejection of some candidates for their affiliation to the dissolved Baath party. Others said political differences had a hand in stoking tensions at the association.
Legal expert Tareq Harb said that chaos has been the hallmark of all electoral affairs in Iraq.
“Positions in power are no longer seen as a service to the people, but they are seen as means to achieve personal gains,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
He ruled out the role of politics, sectarianism or partisan influence at the syndicate, saying the chaos was driven by candidates trying to seek personal interests.
Commenting on the corruption allegation against the association council, Harb said: “I cannot confirm or deny this, but a recent report the syndicate had submitted about its finances was much too brief.”
It did not offer a comprehensive picture of the situation, he explained.
Electoral candidate lawyer Mohammed al-Saaedi disagreed with Harb, saying he did not rule out political meddling in the affairs of the association.
He confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the nomination of one figure was rejected due to his affiliation with the former Baath regime.
The rejection prompted anger among his supporters, who sparked the scuffle, he revealed.
Addressing the corruption claims, he said that those who “incited the violence are behind the corruption.”
He said that two or three people involved in the unrest have been detained. The scuffle is unlikely to affect the elections, which will be held on time.
Lawyer Anwar al-Tharb offered a different version of the events that unfolded at the association headquarters.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the unrest were primarily related to the corruption allegations.
He explained that a number of lawyers demanded al-Lami and members of the association council to submit official documents detailing expenses at the body, but they refused and instead attacked some lawyers.
He revealed that the association makes around $7 million a year, but it does not, however, deal transparently with these funds or provide financial statements, which drew the ire of several lawyers.
