Iraq election officials confirm Sunni candidate ban

Iraqi officials confirmed on Saturday that appeals by prominent Sunni politicians against a move to ban them from next month's election had failed, opening the door to sectarian recriminations that could mar the vote. Many Iraqi Sunnis are alarmed by a campaign by the Shia-led government against people accused of links to former Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein's Baath party, and a decision by a panel to ban almost 500 candidates because of Baathist links.
The controversy has threatened to reopen old wounds just when the sectarian slaughter triggered by the 2003 US invasion has begun to fade and Iraq has started to attract multibillion-dollar investments from global oil firms.