Saddam Has the Right to Vote in Iraq's Elections but Won't Cast a Ballot, Commission Says

Iraq's top election official said Wednesday that Saddam Hussein and his detained senior aides are legally entitled to vote in Sunday's elections, though neither will actually cast a ballot.

Abdel Hussein al-Hindawi, president of the commission organizing the poll, told the newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that Saddam and his co-detainees retain voting rights as long as their trial has not begun. Standing as candidates is a separate matter: because both Saddam and his aides face prosecution for war crimes and crimes against humanity, they are disqualified from running for office.

As for voting itself, the commission cannot arrange ballot boxes at the detention facility in time for Sunday's vote. Hindawi had signaled the same position the previous November, saying Saddam could in principle vote but could not seek re-election.

Captured in December 2003, Saddam has been held in American custody and faces at least seven charges of crimes against humanity. Sunday's elections are Iraq's first free, multiparty contest in roughly 50 years.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in January 2005, in its own words.