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ReutersAn Iraqi appeals court on Monday rejected the disqualification of nine winning candidates from a March 7 election, removing another hurdle to the certification of the ballot results more than two months after the vote.
The decision effectively upholds a final vote tally that gave the Sunni-backed cross-sectarian alliance of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi a two-seat lead. His chances of forming a government are slim because of a tie-up between Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's group and another Shi'ite-led coalition.
A three-judge panel accepted appeals from the nine candidates, eight of whom ran for Allawi's Iraqiya, against their disqualification by a special panel for alleged ties to Saddam Hussein's banned Baath party, party officials said.
"This is victory for the Iraqi judicial system and this is the right step that should have been taken from the beginning," said Maysoon al-Damluji, a spokeswoman for Iraqiya.
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