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An Iraqi man checks election campaign posters
Maliki had branded as "illegal" the judicial panel's initial ruling that around 500 previously barred candidates could compete in the March 7 vote after all, subject to a post-ballot appeals process, sparking protests from MPs.
Of the 500 candidates, 177 appealed their ban and "the judicial panel only authorised 28 to participate in the elections," Responsibility and Justice Committee spokesman Ali al-Mahmud told AFP.
Two parliamentary stalwarts, Saleh al-Mutlaq and Dhafer al-Ani, from the Iraqi Bloc list of former prime minister Iyad Allawi were not authorised to contest the vote, Mahmud said.
The election, the second parliamentary ballot in Iraq since Saddam's ouster, is seen as a test of reconciliation between the Sunni minority dominant under the former dictator and the Shiite majority represented by Maliki's government.
The judges had previously said that barred candidates could stand but that they would examine their files after the polls and would eliminate them if they were found to be Baathists.
The blacklist sparked tensions between the country's Shiite majority and its Sunni Arab former elite when it was compiled last month.
It includes -- both Sunni and Shiite -- suspected Baathists and alleged members of Saddam's once deadly Fedayeen (Men of Sacrifice) militia and Mukhabarat intelligence division.
The row over who can take part in the vote, however, has underscored the fragility of Iraq's democracy, alarming Washington which sees the election as a crucial precursor to a complete military withdrawal by the end of 2011.
There are currently 107,000 US troops in Iraq, but the number is scheduled to fall to 50,000 by August when all American combat soldiers are due to pull out.
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Of the 500 candidates, 177 appealed their ban and "the judicial panel only authorised 28 to participate in the elections," Responsibility and Justice Committee spokesman Ali al-Mahmud told AFP.
Two parliamentary stalwarts, Saleh al-Mutlaq and Dhafer al-Ani, from the Iraqi Bloc list of former prime minister Iyad Allawi were not authorised to contest the vote, Mahmud said.
The election, the second parliamentary ballot in Iraq since Saddam's ouster, is seen as a test of reconciliation between the Sunni minority dominant under the former dictator and the Shiite majority represented by Maliki's government.
The judges had previously said that barred candidates could stand but that they would examine their files after the polls and would eliminate them if they were found to be Baathists.
The blacklist sparked tensions between the country's Shiite majority and its Sunni Arab former elite when it was compiled last month.
It includes -- both Sunni and Shiite -- suspected Baathists and alleged members of Saddam's once deadly Fedayeen (Men of Sacrifice) militia and Mukhabarat intelligence division.
The row over who can take part in the vote, however, has underscored the fragility of Iraq's democracy, alarming Washington which sees the election as a crucial precursor to a complete military withdrawal by the end of 2011.
There are currently 107,000 US troops in Iraq, but the number is scheduled to fall to 50,000 by August when all American combat soldiers are due to pull out.
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