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Commentary: 'Withdrawal Of The National Democratic Party From The Iraqi National Bloc: Reasons, Motives'


Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi (AFP) Published in the National Democratic Party's weekly "Sawt al-Ahali" on 2 November.

Since its establishment in 1946, the National Democratic Party's policy has been characterized by objectivity and fundamentalism. The party has been extremely keen to enhance national unity and ensure large public participation in the political process and the building of the new Iraq. It deals with the complicated and diverse Iraqi situation and society with the utmost transparency, tolerance, and a sound democratic, national approach. Accordingly, since the early stages of the political process, the party has called for the expansion of national forces' political participation in national political decision making.
The party would like to take this opportunity to reconfirm its determination to continue supporting the political process in order to protect Iraq, ensure its unity, and establish a civil law that is based on the principles of justice, democracy, law enforcement, and constitutional institutions.


...The party believes that the success of the political process depends largely on the alliance and solidarity of the Iraqi political and national forces. Accordingly, the party positively responded to Iyad Allawi's initiative for a national unity conference. It has sincerely and seriously participated in the preparations for the conference that aimed to form a large national bloc that comprises distinguished democratic and liberal forces for the upcoming elections.

A committee was formed to prepare a unified electoral list for the upcoming elections. Having attended part of the committee's meetings, the representative of the party discovered that the criteria used in selecting nominees on the list lacked objectivity and were not based on the candidates' efficiency, honesty, sincerity, and bright history. The committee based its selection on personal inclinations and narrow interests and its work is characterized by vagueness and ambiguity, a matter which we believe serves neither the best national interests and democracy in Iraq nor the list's own interests.

As the party failed to correct the situation and it cannot accept such behavior...it was forced to withdraw from [Allawi's] Iraqi National Bloc only a few hours prior to the deadline for the presentation of candidates' lists specified by the Iraqi Independent Electoral Commission. Therefore, we lost an opportunity to participate in the upcoming election.

The party would like to take this opportunity to reconfirm its determination to continue supporting the political process in order to protect Iraq, ensure its unity, and establish a civil law that is based on the principles of justice, democracy, law enforcement, and constitutional institutions.

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