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Political scene in Iraq after elections becomes even more difficult


In Iraq’s elections scenes Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni parties have talked of teaming up to unseat him, which would be feasible if they managed to agree with one another. Mithal Alusi, who won a seat and is a member of the small Civil Democratic Alliance, said the outcome proved that most Iraqis do not want Maliki, The Washington Post reported on May 11th.
“It is time for change”, Alusi said. “He can form the government using money and his mafia structures, but I don’t believe he can do it if we show respect for democratic structures.”


So fragmented is the landscape, however, that it is likely to take months for Maliki to muster the 163 votes he needs in parliament to form a government. More than 35 groups have won seats, and the final tally could change after the results are verified, which could take several weeks.
Many thorny issues will have to be addressed to bring the other factions on board, including the question of who will be Iraq’s next president.
Under an informal agreement reached in the wake of Iraq’s first democratic election, in 2005, the prime minister is a Shiite, the president a Kurd and the speaker of parliament a Sunni. But the incumbent president, Jalal Talabani, is sick and in any case limited to two terms, leaving a question mark over whether the arrangement will continue.
The Kurds also are in a dispute with Maliki over the fate of their expanding oil production and have threatened not to participate in the government unless the matter is resolved. Iraq’s Sunnis, meanwhile, are unhappy with Maliki’s aggressive crackdown against insurgents in Sunni provinces, where the violence partly suppressed the Sunni turnout.
In 2010, the government was formed only after Iran interceded to negotiate a deal between Maliki and the Sadrists. This time, regional and international powers including the United States, which retains influence over Baghdad through its expanding support for the governments counterterrorism efforts are likely to become heavily involved in the bargaining process.

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