(Iraq) Parliament names 9-member committee that will oversee 2009 elections

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Source: AP

An Iraqi parliament committee Saturday named the nine members of the Independent Electoral Commission to oversee the country's 2009 general elections. The Christian minority complained that none were named from their community.

Deputy parliament speaker Khaled al-Attiyah, who headed the committee that chose the members, said 1,313 people applied for the jobs. He added that 35 finalists were selected from the applicants, and from them, were appointed.

Iraq's first general elections since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime were held in January and December 2005 under a committee formed in 2004 by the U.S.-appointed Governing Council, the Coalition Provisional Authority and the United Nations.

He said the commission includes four Shiites, two Sunni Arabs, two Kurds and one Turkoman, or ethnic Turk. He added that the 35 finalists included one Christian. Yonadam Kanna, a Christian legislator, told reporters that his community, which comprises about three percent of Iraq's 26 million people, has been ignored. He said that was "a critical indicator that does not go in harmony with the principles of fraternity or the constitution."

Read more: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/28/africa/ME-GEN-Iraq-Elections-Committee.php