The Iraqis plan to ban former Ba’athists from running in the upcoming elections.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A commission in charge of removing senior members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath party from government posts has recommended that nearly 90 people be banned from running in the Dec. 15 elections, an official said Thursday.

The panel has provided the elections committee with the names 86 candidates planning to run the parliamentary ballot, said Ali al-Lami, the commission’s executive director. A list with another 60 names will be sent in the next days, he said.

Abdul-Hussein Hendawi, an official with the electoral commission, confirmed they have received lists of names and said the panel would make a decision within the next days.

He said senior Baath officials and former members of Saddam’s intelligence agency’s would not be allowed to run.

I’m wondering if the EU, Condi Rice, and President Bush will tell them that they shouldn’t interfere in the democratic process, and that it should be up to the Iraqi people to decide whether or not they want to elect murderers and torturers to public office.

Of course, I’m not really wondering. I just said that because I know the answer.

By the way, I would not advise clicking on the link at the bottom of the AP article. It goes to a page with popups that links to various links to bath products. No, I am not kidding. There is no such website as www.debaath.org. It’s a placeholder. If you put “debaath” into Google, you’ll find the links the AP was too lazy to look for.