Iraq: Politics, Elections, and Benchmarks

Abstract

Iraq's political system, the result of a U.S.-supported election process, has been increasingly characterized by peaceful competition, as well as by attempts to form cross-sectarian alliances. However, ethnic and factional infighting continues, sometimes involving the questionable use of key levers of power and legal institutions. This infighting-and the belief that holding political may mean the difference between life and death for the various political communities-has prevented agreement to date on a new government that was to be selected following the March 7, 2010, national elections for the Council of Representatives (COR, parliament). No new government is expected until the end of the Ramadan period in mid-September, if then. Contributing to the deadlock is the close election results and distribution of seats in the COR. With the results certified, the cross-sectarian but Sunni-supported "Iraqiyya" slate of former Prime Minister Iyad al-Allawi unexpectedly gained a plurality of 91 of the 325 COR seats up for election. Sitting Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki?s State of Law slate won 89, and a rival Shiite coalition was third with 70, of which about 40 seats are held by those supporting Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr. The main Kurdish parties, again allied, won 43 seats. Allawi's slate had been expected to receive the first opportunity to put together a majority coalition to form a government. Maliki and the other main Shiite coalition, opposing what they claim is the mostly Sunni Arab base of the Allawi slate, forged a tenuous alliance to form the next government. However, opposition to Maliki's continuation as Prime Minister caused this deal to unravel, leaving a number of candidates still competing to be the next Prime Minister. Jalal Talabani appears likely to retain the post of president, although this, too, is not certain.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 24, 2010
Accession Number
ADA530217

Entities

People

  • Kenneth Katzman

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Congress
  • Elections
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Governments
  • Intellectual Property
  • Law
  • Minority Groups
  • National Governments
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Political Systems
  • Sectarian Violence
  • Security
  • Terrorists
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • International Relations and Conflict Resolution
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.