The Iraqi parliament on Saturday lifted a ban on three leading politicians of the Sunni-backed political bloc of Iraqia, who were accused of links to Saddam Hussein's Baath party, an Iraqi official television reported.
"The Iraqi parliament voted to lift the ban imposed earlier by the Accountability and Justice Commission on Salih al-Mutlak, Dhafer al-Ani and Jamal al-Karboli, members of the Iraqia political bloc," the state-run Iraqia television said, Xinhua reported.
The lift of the ban on some leading members of the Iraqia bloc, headed by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, is part of the power- sharing deal reached earlier by the country's major political blocs that ended the eight-month political deadlock.
The ban was previously imposed on hundreds of politicians before and after the parliamentary elections on March 7, including some Sunni political leaders, by the Accountability and Justice Commission which is in charge of vetting candidates for ties to the Baath party so as to prevent them from participating in the political affairs.
Lifting the ban on the Sunni leaders is a concession by the Shiite alliance to the Iraqia which promised to participate in the government led by Nuri al-Maliki who was in fierce struggle against Allawi whose party gained narrow winning in the parliamentary elections.
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