World

Saddam's Son Wins Election

March 28, 2000 / 12:28 PM EST / AP

President Saddam Hussein's eldest son got 99.99 percent of the vote to win his first National Assembly race, according to a report Tuesday, positioning him for the parliament speaker's post and a place at the center of Iraqi decision-making.

The report in the state-run al-Ittihad weekly newspaper also said Odai Hussein obtained 100 percent in some election centers. Overall, 279,066 votes were cast Monday in his northwest Baghdad district, it said.

Odai owns several newspapers, including Iraq's most influential daily, Babil, and the popular television channel al-Shebab - or Youth - both of which have displayed an unusual willingness to criticize senior government officials.

The television station provides wide coverage of world events, and Babil publishes uncensored foreign media reports - even those unflattering to the government.

Odai's landslide victory, which many took as a foregone conclusion, is certain to broaden his power base and support a widely held belief that he is Saddam's heir apparent.

The new parliament is scheduled to hold its inaugural session in April. Parliament members elect the speaker, usually the most prominent member of the ruling Baath party. Odai ran as a party member, and his election showing established his popularity despite his relative inexperience.

The position of a parliamentary speaker is viewed in Iraq as nearly equal to that of prime minister, a post now held by Saddam. The speaker usually attends meetings of the Revolutionary Command Council, the all-powerful decision-making body led by Saddam.

In 1995, Saddam garnered 99.96 "yes" votes in a presidential referendum in which voters were asked to express their approval or disapproval of the sole candidate.

Also running was Saadoon Hamadi, the speaker of the outgoing parliament. Al-Ittihad did not say whether Hamadi, a confidant of President Saddam Hussein and among the most senior members of the ruling Baath party, kept his seat in parliament.

Casting his vote Monday, Odai approached the ballot box with a limp that is a result of gunshot wounds suffered in a 1996 assassination attempt. He said he would work for a multiparty system his father had pledged to put in place nearly a decade ago.

Senior government officials say a multiparty law and another providing for freedom of speech and press were drafted in 1991 and they expect them to come into force once U.N. trade sanctions on Iraq are lifted.

In editorials in the past few weeks, Babil has indirectly lashed out at Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, Iraq's foremost diplomat, for criticizing U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Babil also was critical of illegal campaign practices by the son of an unnamed senior member of the ruling Baath party, believed to be Hamadi - the outgoing parliament speaker. The newspaper's boldest move came Saturday in an editorial accusing officials of the national spy agency of corruption.

Iraq restrics access to or bans satellite dishes and satellite phones, computer modems and foreign newspapers. Without Babil and al-Shebab television, Iraqis would have had little access to what is happening in the outside world.

National Assembly candidates, however, had very limited access to the media and the race itself was strictly controlled, with rallies and election manifestos banned. All candidates were either members of the Baath Party or nominal independents loyal to it.

A total of 9.2 million Iraqis were eligible to cast ballots. Voters must be at least 18 years old. Military personnel cannot vote. The last parliamentary elections were held in 1996.