Word: boycotts
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...succeed Arafat. But the signs of progress are still fragile. Palestinian officials are concerned about supporters of imprisoned Palestinian activist Marwan Barghouti, who lost his bid to be Fatah's presidential nominee. Senior Fatah officials told TIME that as many as 40% of the party's members may now boycott the election. The absence of a credible alternative to Abbas could also embolden the militant group Hamas to attempt to derail his election by attacking Israel. "There is a real sense that this is a moment of opportunity," says a senior U.S. official. "But everyone realizes that it might...
...forces show little ability to stand alone against the insurgency any time soon, never mind create the basis of a national army capable of defending the country's borders against foreign attack. And the elections scheduled for January 30 are unlikely to end the insurgency. If the projected Sunni boycott transpires and Shiite religious parties, as expected, dominate at the polls, the conflict may even widen and deepen following the election. The ability of the U.S. to achieve its goals in Iraq may come to depend on achieving a consensus with Iraq's neighbors, and other allies, over the country...
...Sunni participation in the voting. The Iraqi Islamic Party, the largest Sunni political party in Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's interim government withdrew last week, saying it could not abide the attack on Fallujah. Meanwhile, the influential Association of Muslim Scholars, a Sunni group, has called for a total boycott of the elections. The association's leader, Harith al-Dhari, told TIME he was "very close to calling for jihad" against the Americans and the Allawi government...
...while the military operation, if followed by a substantial troop presence in the city, may facilitate the opening of polling stations in Fallujah, that fact alone may not be enough to encourage Sunni voters to turn out. Indeed, the operation in Fallujah strengthened calls to boycott the election by the Association of Muslim Scholars, an organization influential among Sunni clerics, and prompted the main Sunni political party to withdraw from the Allawi government...
Smashing Fallujah's insurgency might make voting in that city easier, but it could also drive embittered Sunnis everywhere to boycott the balloting, as many hard-line clerics are urging. U.S. officials acknowledge that violence in some areas could make it too dangerous for residents to vote. The U.S. wanted the U.N. to organize and monitor the balloting to ensure credibility, but it won't send more than a few trained experts as long as its staff may not be safe. Insurgents are sure to challenge the legitimacy of any government elected under questionable circumstances. "Iraqis have no experience with...