The final results of Iraq’s elections yesterday confirmed a breakthrough for nationalist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who was in the lead, ahead of internationally favored Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
However, the possibilities for alliances to form a coalition government remain wide open.
None of the three leading groups won more than 55 of the 329 seats up for grabs in the Iraqi Council of Representatives in the vote on Saturday last week, which saw record-high abstentions, with just 44.52 percent turnout — the lowest since the first multiparty elections in 2005.
In a system calibrated to divide the legislature after the fall of then-Iraqi president Saddam Hussein following a US-led invasion in 2003, al-Sadr’s Marching Towards Reform alliance is far from assured of governing Iraq for the next four years.
Al-Sadr, who has ruled himself out for prime minister, is looking to be the kingmaker and cobble together a technocrat government from a dozen parties.
However, despite leading the tally, his alliance falls short of a majority and it would take lengthy wrangling to forge a coalition.
Negotiations to form a coalition government began as soon as the vote ended a week ago, with the involvement of the US and Iran — who both oppose the firebrand Shiite leader.
“Last week was the agreement of principles, and now we enter the phase of forming coalitions,” Iraqi political commentator Hicham al-Hachemi told reporters.
The alliance between the populist Shiite preacher and Iraq’s communists won 54 seats.
In second place is the Fatah Alliance, made up of former fighters from mainly Iran-backed paramilitary units that battled the Islamic State, which won 47 seats, ahead of the Victory Alliance, headed by al-Abadi, which had 42.
The vote was a slap in the face to the widely reviled elite that has dominated Iraq since the 2003 invasion.
Al-Sadr rose to prominence in the wake of the invasion, when his militia fought a bloody insurgency against US troops.
After years on the sidelines, he has reinvented himself as a champion of the poor and linked up with secularists to battle corruption. He is one of the few Iraqi politicians opposed to both the presence of US troops and the heavy influence that neighboring Iran exercises over Iraq.
The results showed “reform has won and corruption is weakened,” al-Sadr said on Twitter, but he faces a tricky regional context as he begins coalition negotiations.
The protracted horse-trading comes at a time of high tensions after Washington’s withdrawal from a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran and fears of a tug-of-war over Iraq.
Even before Sadr’s victory was confirmed, Iran had already been convening meetings to try to block him from forming a government.
Iran dispatched to Baghdad Quds Force commander Major General Qassem Soleimani, who has met with several members of Iraq’s old guard, including al-Abadi and his predecessor, Iraqi Vice President Nouri al-Maliki.
Soleimani has reportedly ruled out any alliance with al-Sadr, who surprised many last year by visiting Iran’s regional foe Saudi Arabia as Riyadh seeks increased involvement in Iraq.
Soleimani’s shuttle diplomacy is aimed at gathering enough parties opposed to al-Sadr to deny his alliance a governable majority and a route to the powerful position of prime minister — although Sadr himself is not in the running for the top job.
Al-Sadr has already ruled out governing with either al-Maliki or pro-Tehran Fatah Alliance leader Hadi al-Amiri.
He has called instead for a technocratic government that can begin to tackle Iraq’s rampant corruption and the mammoth rebuilding task left from the battle against the Islamic State.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was