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| Iraq |
| Iraq PM picks up steam in bid to retain post |
| 2010-03-14 |
| BAGHDAD - Iraqi premier Nuri al-Maliki's bid to retain his job gained steam on Saturday, as early results crucially put him ahead in Baghdad, while rival blocs began jostling over the formation of a government. Though the preliminary figures represent less than one-third of all votes cast, they have put Maliki firmly in pole position in the race for the top job, with only ex-premier Iyad Allawi having emerged as a potential rival. Analysts said, however, that Maliki could be blocked in his bid to hold onto office even if his State of Law Alliance was the biggest single party in parliament, as other groups could manoeuvre to form a government without him. That's how a parliamentary system works alright ... With 18 percent of ballots counted in Baghdad, Maliki's State of Law Alliance was comfortably ahead with around 150,000 votes, followed by the Iraqi National Alliance (INA), a coalition led by Shiite religious parties, with 108,000. Allawi's secular Iraqiya bloc was third on 105,000. Baghdad and its seven million residents account for 70 parliamentary seats, or more than one-fifth of the 325-member Council of Representatives, making it a crucial win for any would-be government. News of Maliki's lead in Baghdad came shortly after a senior member of his coalition said State of Law had formed a committee to begin negotiating with rival blocs to hammer out a government. "The committee met with representatives of four political entities that made progress in the elections," Abbas al-Bayati, a candidate for the coalition, told AFP, but he declined to say with which blocs the talks were held. But Baghdad University professor Hamid Fadhel said that even if Maliki's group emerged as the biggest party in parliament, other groups could still shut him out and manage to form a government. "There exists a desire to form an alliance between the INA and the Kurds, possibly also with Allawi," he told AFP. "They have all refused a long time to really see Maliki as the prime minister." Underscoring Fadhel's analysis, Allawi and Iraq's Sunni Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi were due to arrive in Arbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, on Saturday to meet with regional president Massud Barzani. Barzani's office said he and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, himself a Kurd, also met with Shiite Vice-President Adel Abdel Mahdi, an INA candidate, on Friday. Iraq's proportional representation electoral system makes it unlikely that any single grouping will clinch the 163 seats necessary to form a government on its own. Preliminary results from the March 7 polls released since Thursday have put Maliki's coalition in the lead in the predominantly Shiite southern provinces of Najaf, Babil, Karbala and Muthanna. Iraqiya was ahead in the mostly Sunni provinces of Diyala and Salaheddin, while the INA was in pole position in Shiite Maysan. The Kurdistania alliance, made up of Barzani and Talabani's long-dominant blocs, was leading in Arbil province. Complete results are expected on March 18 and the final ones -- after any appeals are dealt with -- will likely come at the end of the month. |
| Posted by:Steve White |