Court overturns ban on 9 Iraqi candidates

An Iraqi court on Monday overturned a ban on nine newly elected parliament members who had been barred by a committee vetting candidates for ties to Saddam Hussein's regime, said a committee official, overcoming a major hurdle in forming the new government. The ban of the candidates, seven of which came from a Sunni-backed bloc, was perceived as an attempt to overturn election results that handed the Shiite prime minister a narrow loss and threatened to further delay what has already been a long, contentious election process. "All the nine appeals were accepted, and we were informed officially about this and now they have the right to join the parliament as lawmakers," said the Shiite head of the committee, Ali al-Lami.