Iraqi lawmakers voted on Saturday to lift a ban on three former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party, which has prevented them from participating in the government, DPA reported.
The ban was imposed on Saleh al-Mutlaq, Dhafer al-Ani and Jamal al-Karbouli - members of former prime minister Iyad Allawi's Iraqiya List, which has Sunni backing and includes former Baathists.
Al-Mutlaq, the most prominent of the three Sunni politicians, was banned earlier this year from running for parliament because of charges that he was a Baathist. Although he is a critic of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, he is believed to be the Iraqiya List's pick for foreign minister.
A power-sharing deal last month broke the country's political deadlock when al-Maliki was assigned for a second term to establish an inclusive cabinet without jeopardizing the delicate political deals which enabled the first parliamentary vote.
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