Iraqi Vote Signals Shift from Religious Leaders

Iraqi Vote Signals Shift from Religious Leaders
March 14, 2010 · Posted in NEWS
So far, al-Maliki’s coalition is leading in five of the 11 provinces where the vote has been partially counted. Iraq has a total of 18 provinces.

Nationwide, State of Law has so far amassed more than 357,000 votes, and Iraqiya was trailing with 295,400 votes. The INA was in third place with just over 280,500.

Outside Baghdad, all of al-Maliki’s leads are in southern provinces where Shiite hard-liners were expected to bring stiff competition. The south is generally considered friendly turf for the INA, made up of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council and followers of the anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr — two groups that are linked to Iran.

U.S. officials have long worried that religious hard-liners — especially those influenced by Iran — would take over the still-shaky government and undo much of the progress toward making Iraq a reliable ally in the Middle East.

Hakim al-Zamili, one of the INA’s Sadrist candidates, played down al-Maliki’s gains and said Iraqis still “are religious and they still respect religious parties.”

Even so, al-Zamili acknowledged that some voters have grown tired of fundamentalist politicians.

“We should confess that some people have turned their back on these parties because they were disappointed by the performance of inefficient officials linked to religious parties,” al-Zamili said.
Al-Zamili was one of two former government officials arrested and accused of allowing Shiite death squads to use ambulances and government hospitals to carry out kidnappings and killings, although the charges were dropped two years ago.

Al-Maliki broke off from the Shiite alliance more than a year ago in an effort to win support from a broader base. If his lead holds, it will serve as another, even bigger blow to religious leaders against whom he also fared well in last year’s provincial elections.

Many experts have noted the rejection of nationalist, non-religious coalitions reflects Iraqi frustration with years of sectarian fighting as well as frustration over the past four years of religious parties to improve much needed government services.

“The voters have shown that they are fed up with the religious parties that failed to improve their life,” said Nabil Salim, a political science professor at Baghdad University.

Iraqiya is led by one of al-Maliki’s predecessors, former Premier Ayad Allawi, who is also Shiite. However, Iraqiya has attracted Sunnis who have similarly rejected their own religiously based politicians but remain suspicious of al-Maliki’s continued, if lessened, ties to Iran.
Iraqiya officials kept up a drumbeat Saturday of fraud accusations — including discarded ballots and the failure of some provincial ballot boxes to be delivered to the counting center in Baghdad — that they alleged may have cost them votes.

“Our stance is that there were violations and we want the truth about them,” said Iraqiya spokeswoman Maysoun al-Damlouji.

So far, al-Maliki’s coalition is leading in five of the 11 provinces where the vote has been partially counted. Iraq has a total of 18 provinces.

Nationwide, State of Law has so far amassed more than 357,000 votes, and Iraqiya was trailing with 295,400 votes. The INA was in third place with just over 280,500.

Outside Baghdad, all of al-Maliki’s leads are in southern provinces where Shiite hard-liners were expected to bring stiff competition. The south is generally considered friendly turf for the INA, made up of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council and followers of the anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr — two groups that are linked to Iran.

U.S. officials have long worried that religious hard-liners — especially those influenced by Iran — would take over the still-shaky government and undo much of the progress toward making Iraq a reliable ally in the Middle East.
Hakim al-Zamili, one of the INA’s Sadrist candidates, played down al-Maliki’s gains and said Iraqis still “are religious and they still respect religious parties.”

Even so, al-Zamili acknowledged that some voters have grown tired of fundamentalist politicians.

“We should confess that some people have turned their back on these parties because they were disappointed by the performance of inefficient officials linked to religious parties,” al-Zamili said.

Al-Zamili was one of two former government officials arrested and accused of allowing Shiite death squads to use ambulances and government hospitals to carry out kidnappings and killings, although the charges were dropped two years ago.

Al-Maliki broke off from the Shiite alliance more than a year ago in an effort to win support from a broader base. If his lead holds, it will serve as another, even bigger blow to religious leaders against whom he also fared well in last year’s provincial elections.

Many experts have noted the rejection of nationalist, non-religious coalitions reflects Iraqi frustration with years of sectarian fighting as well as frustration over the past four years of religious parties to improve much needed government services.

“The voters have shown that they are fed up with the religious parties that failed to improve their life,” said Nabil Salim, a political science professor at Baghdad University.

Iraqiya is led by one of al-Maliki’s predecessors, former Premier Ayad Allawi, who is also Shiite. However, Iraqiya has attracted Sunnis who have similarly rejected their own religiously based politicians but remain suspicious of al-Maliki’s continued, if lessened, ties to Iran.

Iraqiya officials kept up a drumbeat Saturday of fraud accusations — including discarded ballots and the failure of some provincial ballot boxes to be delivered to the counting center in Baghdad — that they alleged may have cost them votes.

“Our stance is that there were violations and we want the truth about them,” said Iraqiya spokeswoman Maysoun al-Damlouji.