The No. 2 judge in the Saddam Hussein trial should not replace the resigning chief judge because of claims he belonged to the once-ruling Baath Party, according to the head of the body working to rid Baathists from Iraqi institutions.

An election official today said Iraqi law will allow Saddam Hussein and thousands of other Iraqi detainees to vote in this weekend’s crucial constitutional referendum.

The US is to bring members of Saddam Hussein’s disbanded Baath party in from the cold – allowing thousands of former army officers and teachers back in their jobs.