Iraq Arrest Calls Fair Elections Into Question BAGHDAD - In making the optimistic case for the development of democracy here, American officials typically point to the 2010 parliamentary elections, which were judged largely free and fair by international monitors including the United Nations. But with the arrest of the head of Iraq's election commission, the prospect for fair elections has been thrown into question. Faraj al-Haidari, chief of the Independent High Electoral Commission, spent most of the weekend in a jail cell after being arrested on corruption charges on Thursday. He was released on Sunday afternoon after posting bail of $12,500. In a country where billions of dollars are siphoned off annually in corrupt oil deals and government contracts, the accusations against Mr. Haidari would seem to be minor: doling out bonuses of about $130 each to five employees. Reached Saturday on his cellphone, which his jailers allowed him to keep, Mr. Haidari said Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki called him Friday evening and assured him that he had nothing to do with the arrest. But few people believe that to be the case. Mr. Maliki has sought for two years to consolidate control over the electoral commission, whose independence is viewed as essential in ensuring that Iraqi elections are free from fraud, vote rigging and interference from political parties. Mr. Maliki's critics say the effort is part of a pattern of power grabs - his near total takeover of the security forces, a recent attempt to exert influence over the central bank and politically motivated arrests under the pretext of thwarting coup plots. And it reinforces a narrative that Mr. Maliki is emerging as an authoritarian leader in the wake of the American military withdrawal. While the case involving the election commission is lower profile, the implications of its loss of independence are perhaps more ominous. With the current political culture so poisoned by factional infighting as Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds compete for power, the best prognosis that many offer for the long-term stability of Iraq's democracy is that the system can hold together long enough for a new generation of leaders to emerge. Without fair elections, that will not happen. "If elections were held now, they would not be as fair as they were in 2010," Mr. Haidari said. Ali al-Mousawi, a spokesman for Mr. Maliki, said that the arrest was a judicial matter and that the prime minister's office was not involved. The commission's mandate is set to expire this month, and Parliament was supposed to approve, with advisory support from the United Nations, new representatives to the nine-person panel by the end of the month. That would ensure that elections in the Kurdistan region in September, provincial elections early next year and parliamentary elections in 2014 went off as planned. But in a recent statement, Martin Kobler, the United Nations representative in Iraq, said a parliamentary vote on new commissioners was "now unlikely to take place," casting doubt on whether Iraq's election schedule can hold. "It goes without saying that there can be no true democracy without free, fair and competitive elections," Mr. Kobler said. In a carefully worded statement issued on Friday concerning Mr. Haidari's arrest, the United Nations said it "continues to follow closely the situation and recalls that due process must apply in accordance with the principles enshrined in the Iraqi Constitution." The arrest stirred a stronger rebuke from the authorities in the semiautonomous Kurdish region in the north, who are embroiled in their own fight over oil and power with the Maliki government. In a statement on its Web site, the Kurdistan government described the arrest as a "gross violation and a dangerous infringement of the political process, and a sign that the democratic process in the country is being undermined." Mr. Maliki, a Shiite, has had the electoral commission in his cross hairs since the 2010 elections, when his coalition came in second behind Iraqiya, a largely Sunni bloc led by Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite. Mr. Maliki secured a second term as premier after the United States helped broker a so-called national unity government that has never been united. But he came to believe that the commission and the United Nations had conspired to deny him an election mandate, said Ramzy Mardini, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, who has heard Mr. Maliki explain his theory in a meeting. The commission has generally earned praise for overseeing Iraq's 2010 elections in a politically charged and violent environment, even as its employees have been targets of violence. In one attack after the elections, an employee was found in the trunk of his car, his body riddled with bullets. After prodding from Mr. Maliki, Iraq's high court ruled last year that the commission and a top anticorruption body - both established by the American occupation authorities and designed to be independent - should be placed under the control of Mr. Maliki's cabinet, a decision that the prime minister's rivals sharply criticized. But as Mr. Maliki faced resistance from Parliament and international bodies, he pulled a familiar tactic out of the playbook of Iraqi politics: corruption allegations. Last year, Hanan al-Fatlawi, a lawmaker from Mr. Maliki's party, began a parliamentary investigation into allegations of corruption at the electoral commission and probed its spending on security and travel. The investigation was largely perceived as politically motivated, and Parliament rejected most of the allegations. In the interview, Mr. Haidari blamed Ms. Fatlawi for his arrest. "She is the one who created all these obstacles to hinder the work of our committee," he said. Attempts to reach Ms. Fatlawi over the weekend were unsuccessful. While seemingly neglecting its own fledgling democratic institutions, Iraq has sought to claim a role as an inspiration to the Arab revolutions and offered its support to regional countries on a similarly shaky path toward a democratic future. It has given $100,000 and provided advisers to Tunisia to support elections there, and more recently has provided technical assistance to Libya in destroying the chemical weapons held by the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. Politically, Iraq is facing two crises. In December, the government issued an arrest warrant for Tariq al-Hashimi, the Sunni vice president, on charges of directing a death squad. Mr. Hashimi fled to Kurdistan and the life of a fugitive, an episode that triggered deep animosity between Mr. Maliki and the country's Sunni minority. A separate and escalating conflict has Mr. Maliki and the Kurds bickering over oil contracts and the degree of autonomy for the Kurdish region. A planned national conference, led by President Jalal Talabani and encouraged by American diplomats, to seek reconciliation between the country's political leadership was first scheduled for February but is not expected to go forward. Omar al-Jawoshy contributed reporting.