Iraqi governorate elections, 2009

Iraqi governorate elections, 2009

31 January 2009

440 seats comprising 14 of the 18 governorates of Iraq   First party Second party Third party   Leader Nouri al-Maliki Abdul Aziz al-Hakim Muqtada al-Sadr Party State of Law Coalition Al-Mehraab Martyr List Independent Free Movement Last election 42 195 Seats won 126 52 43 Seat change 84 143 17 Popular vote 1,362,594 482,800 434,849 Percentage 19.1% 6.8% 6.1%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Tariq Al-Hashimi Ayad Allawi Ibrahim al-Jaafari Party Tawafuq Iraqi National List National Reform Trend Last election 45 18 Seats won 32 26 23 Seat change 13 8 23 Popular vote 449,575 404,201 273,130 Percentage 6.3% 5.7% 3.8%

Colours show the largest list per governorate

Provinces holding election are Green; Kirkuk (blue) and Iraqi Kurdistan (red) postponed their elections for later on the year.

Governorate or provincial elections were held in Iraq on 31 January 2009, to replace the local councils in fourteen of the eighteen governorates of Iraq that were elected in the Iraqi governorate elections of 2005.^[1][2] 14,431 candidates - including 3,912 women - contested 440 seats. The candidates came from over 400 parties - 75% of which were newly formed.^[3]

Legal Framework

In February 2008, the Iraqi Parliament passed a Provincial Powers Act by a majority of one, with many members of parliament not present at the proceedings. It included giving the Prime Minister the power to dismiss a governor of a province, a measure that would have left considerable power in the hands of the Shi'a dominated central government in Baghdad. The Act required a Provincial Elections Law to be passed within the next 90 days and for elections to be held no later than the beginning of October 2008.

The Presidency Council initially referred the law back, saying it did not comply with the constitutional rights of governorates. It was reported that vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi, whose Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council party is strong in many southern Iraqi governorate councils, particularly objected.^[4][5] However, the Council reversed its position following protests from the Sadrist Movement, saying they would instead seek changes to the law before it came into force.^[6]

In July 2008 the Iraqi Election Commission proposed postponing the elections until December because delays in passing the election law had left too little time to prepare.^[7]

The Provincial Elections bill was eventually approved by the Council of Representatives on 22 July 2008 despite a walkout by members of the Kurdistani Alliance over a clause making Kirkuk Governorate council a power-sharing arrangement.^[8] The next day the Presidency Council of Iraq, consisting of President Jalal Talabani, who is Kurdish, Vice-President Adel Abdul Mahdi, a Shi'ite Arab, and Vice-President Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni Arab, unanimously agreed to reject the bill because of the Kirkuk clause, and send it back to the Council of Representatives to reconsider.^[9][10]

The second draft was ratified by the Presidency Council on 7 October 2008, who stated that a minority clause may be added later.^[11][12] A minority clause was added on 3 November.^[13]

Kirkuk Governorate

The original draft proposed delaying the election in Kirkuk Governorate until after the referendum to decide its precise status has been held. However, a group of Turkmen and Arab MPs proposed a power-sharing clause, establishing a provincial council consisting of ten Kurds, ten Arabs, ten Turkmens and two Assyrians. This clause was included in the draft election bill put to the Iraqi Council of Representatives in July 2008, and led to the Kurdish parties walking out in protest, complaining "If you already pick the seats before the election, why vote?"^[14] The law was nonetheless approved on 22 July 2008.^[8] However, President Jalal Talabani, who is Kurdish, and Vice-President Adel Abdul Mahdi, a Shi'ite Arab, have agreed they would reject the bill, and hence it would be sent back to the Council of Representatives to reconsider.^[9]

Parliamentary summer recess started on 30 July 2008, but a special session was called for 3 August 2008 to find a solution to the Kirkuk issue.^[15] At that meeting, no solution was reached; at another meeting on 4 August 2008, lawmakers postponed the session to 5 August 2008,^[16][17] and on that date to 6 August 2008.^[18] It was then postponed to 9 September 2008, with a committee working on a compromise solution until then.^[19] At that session, no resolution was reached, and negotiations continued on 10 September 2008 in the form of a special six-member panel formed for this occasion.^[20][21] The law was finally passed on 24 September 2008 and the election is expected to be held by 31 January 2009;^[22] the compromise was that Kirkuk would be dealt with separately, and elections in Kirkuk and the three Kurdish autonomous provinces will be held at a later time.^[23] A special panel was to work on a solution on Kirkuk and report back by 31 March 2009.^[24]

The United Nations Special Representative for Iraq, Staffan de Mistura proposed holding elections in all governorates except Kirkuk, and deferring the Kirkuk elections for six months in order to find an acceptable compromise.^[25] A draft bill based on this proposal was debated on 6 August and accepted by the Kurdistani Alliance but opposed by the Iraqi Turkmen Front, Iraqi Accord Front and Sadrist Movement who objected to the draft law's reference to the Kirkuk status referendum and insisted on delaying the entire elections until a solution was found.^[19][26]

Minorities

Under Article 50 of the draft Elections law, religious minorities such as Christians and Yazidis would be reserved a number of seats in the provincial assemblies. This clause was removed in the final draft, with legislators citing a lack of census data for determining the appropriate number of seats. Five thousand Christians demonstrated in Mosul against this change, saying it was a "marginalisation of their rights" and the head of the Assyrian Church of the East wrote to the Presidency Council asking them to veto the law.^[27][28]

Prime Minister al-Maliki said he was concerned and called on parliament and the Iraqi High Electoral Commission to "remove all the concerns, injustice and the sense of exclusion felt by some segments of Iraqi society".^[29] Kurdish MP Mahmoud Othman called on the Presidency Council of Iraq to use its review process to force an amendment to include a minority quota, saying "The rule of the majority means there should be protection of the minorities"^[30] A Sadrist leader also said Christians should be allowed to "contribute to the building of the Iraqi state" and the removal of this clause "threatened the unity of Iraq"^[31] The UN Special Envoy also criticised the removal of the minorities clause.^[32]

A minority clause was added on 3 November 2008, although it only provided for six special seats (three for Christians, one each for Yazidi, Mandean and Shabak) instead of twelve as recommended by the UN.^[13] The Christians got a seat each in Baghdad, Nineveh, and Basra, the Yazidi and Shabak in Nineveh, and the Mandeans in Baghdad.^[33]

Female quota

Original drafts of the Election law included a guarantee that the elected councils would contain at least 25% women. However, the law passed stated instead that there would be "a woman at the end of every three winners". The Electoral Commission has interpreted this to mean that where a list wins more than two seats in a particular governorate, the third seat will be awarded to a woman on the party's list. Given the large number of parties contesting the election, many of whom are expected to win one or two seats, female MPs raised concerns that the change in language has weakened this provision.^[34]

Electoral system

The previous Governorate and national elections in Iraq have been held under a "Closed list" electoral system, whereby voters select a party or coalition and the party or coalition selects the individual parliamentarian.

The new election will be held under an "Open list" system, whereby voters may select either a party or an individual candidate; the candidates elected from a list will be those that get the most individual votes from among that list.

The system also promotes the representation of women, for if the top two people elected from a list are men, the subsequent person elected will be the woman with the most votes.^[35]

Militias

In March, the government of Nouri al-Maliki moved against militias allied to the Sadrist Movement in Basrah Governorate. Sadrists accused Maliki of trying to weaken them ahead of the polls, but Maliki claimed he was just targeting "criminal gangs".

Following this, Maliki said he would disqualify any parties from the election who refused to disband their militia. In April the cabinet agreed on a draft elections law, which included a clause banning parties with militias.^[36] The Sadr Movement however, still ran in the elections.

Campaign

The security situation in this election was much better than in previous elections. Security was provided by the Iraqi security forces with the Multinational force in Iraq playing no role for the first time.^[37] Candidates felt safe enough to canvass for votes, while the 2005 elections saw little public campaigning.^[3] Nonetheless, eight candidates were killed during the campaign, borders were closed for voting and curfews and vehicle bans were put in place.^[38] However, this compared favourably to the 2005 elections when over 200 candidates were killed.^[37]

Early voting took place on Wednesday 28 January for 614,000 soldiers, police, prisoners, patients and internally displaced people.^[38]

Sunni Arab areas

The current Governorate councils were elected in the Iraqi Governorate elections of 2005, which were boycotted by Sunni Arabs, resulting in several Sunni Arab-majority provinces such as Ninawa Governorate and Salahuddin Governorate being run either ethnic Kurdish parties, or multi-ethnic parties of Shia faith. As Sunni Arab parties have since decided to participate in elections, these elections are expected to give them more representation.

The elections are also expected to develop electoral competition within the Sunni Arab population between the pro-government Iraqi Accord Front and the new political groups formed out of the anti-al-Qaeda Awakening movement militias. A leading member of the Awakening movement in Baghdad, Abu Azzam al-Tamimi, has formed the Iraqi Dignity Front to contest the elections. The Awakening movement in Anbar has formed the National Front for the Salvation of Iraq. These parties are expected to sweep the Sunni Arab vote in Anbar, Salahuddin, Diyala, and Baghdad.^[39]

In Ninawa, the Sunni Arab - majority al-Hadba party - which is also backed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki^[40]- complained of being targeted by Kurdish security forces. A candidate for the Sunni Arab "Iraq for Us" coalition in Ninawa was killed by a gunman who walked into a café and shot him.^[41]

Shiite Arab areas

One senior government official said the elections would "redraw the political map of Iraq" while Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi described them as a "major rehearsal for the parliamentary elections" due in 2009-10. An expert from the International Crisis Group predicted a "big shift", with the existing parties established by exiles losing ground to more recently formed parties of people who stayed in Iraq during the rule of Saddam Hussein.^[42]

There is also expected to be significant electoral competition between two main Shiite Islamist parties in the government - the Islamic Dawa Party of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council of Vice-President Adel Abdul Mahdi. Following the Battle of Basra (2008), the Prime Minister created "support councils" to help with security in the southern provinces and Maliki was accused of using these support councils to build a political base. The Presidency Council of Iraq publicly criticised the Prime Minister in November 2008, saying these support councils were illegal, should be suspended and the money used to support the regular Army and Police.^[43]

Competition is also expected between the government Islamist parties and the opposition Sadrist Movement, with some commentators saying Sadrists were expected to win a majority of seats in southern Iraq and parts of Baghdad.^[44][45] The Sadrist Movement supported the Blamelessness and Reconstruction (376) list and the Independent Trend of the Noble Ones (284)^[46]

Some commentators predicted there would be a backlash against the incumbent religious parties in favour of more secular parties.^[47]

Shortly before the election, an initiative was started in Basra Province to convert the province into a Region. The initiative failed to reach 10% of eligible voters in the specified period, meaning it fell.^[48]

Results

Election map showing the largest list per governorate

There were 15 million eligible voters, but hundreds of thousands of voters were omitted from the ballot lists. Mithal al-Alusi, an Arab nationalist MP, complained that there were "many mistakes" by the Commission and Iranian diplomats had been allowed entry to polling stations.^[49]

There were international observers in every one of the 712 constituencies - the first election since the invasion of Iraq to be fully observed^[37]

Unlike the 2005 election, there was no boycott by any significant political movement;^[37] however, turnout was down on the previous election at slightly over 51%. ISCI blamed the election day vehicle ban, which meant voters often had to walk long distances to the polling centres.^[50]

Official results were not expected until days after the election.^[51] Early indications were that the Islamic Dawa Party turned as largest party in Shi'a south.^[52] This was confirmed in preliminary results released on 10 February 2009 as of 5 February.^[53][54]

Total Seats

Party		Total Votes	Percentage	Total seats	Party Leader
	State of Law Coalition	1,362,594	19.1%	126	Nouri al-Maliki
	al-Mehraab Martyr List	482,800	6.8%	52	Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
	Independent Free Movement	434,849	6.1%	43	Muqtada al-Sadr
	Iraqi Accord Front	449,575	6.3%	32	Tariq al-Hashemi
	Iraqi National List	404,201	5.7%	26	Ayad Allawi
	National Reform Trend	273,130	3.8%	23	Ibrahim al-Jaafari
	Brotherhood List	353,328	5.0%	20	Barzani, Talabani
	National Iraqi Project Gathering	328,250	4.6%	19	Saleh al-Mutlaq
	Al-Hadbaa National List	435,595	6.1%	19	Atheel al-Nujaifi
	Awakening Council	56,262	0.8%	8	Abu Risha
	Islamic Virtue Party	140,648	2.0%	6	Abdul al-Huseini
Other Parties		2,422,424	33.7%	66	-
Total		7,143,656	100%	440	-

Provincial Turnout

Governorate	Votes Cast	Seats
Anbar	317,074	29
Babil	487,858	30
Baghdad	1,694,930	57
Basra	646,109	35
Dhi Qar	453,806	31
Diyala	430,407	29
Karbala	291,479	27
Maysan	234,398	27
Muthanna	207,752	26
Najaf	338,540	28
Ninawa	995,169	37
Qadisiyyah	332,176	28
Salah ad-Din	403,764	28
Wassit	310,194	28
Total:	7,143,656	440

al-Anbar Governorate

Party		Total votes	Percentage	Seats	Party Leader
	Iraq Awakening and Independents National Alliance (Sahwa)	56,262	17.1%	8	Abu Risha
	National Iraqi Project Gathering	53,487	17.6%	6	Saleh al-Mutlaq
	Tribes and Educated Coalition for Development	51,733	15.9%	6	Tariq al-Hashemi
	National Movement for Development and Reform (al-Hal)	23,835	7.8%	3	Jamal al-Karbuli
	Iraqi National List	21,551	6.6%	2	Ayad Allawi
	Coalition for Iraqi National Unity	14,439	4.6%	2	Mohammed al-Kasanzani
	Tribes of Iraq Coalition	13,798	4.5%	2	Hamid al-Hais
Other parties		-	25.9%	0
Total		317,074	100%	29

Babil Governorate

Party		Total votes	Percentage	Seats	Party Leader
	State of Law Coalition	60,914	12.5%	8	Nouri al-Maliki
	al-Mehraab Martyr List	40,365	8.2%	5	Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
	Independent Free Movement	30,119	6.2%	3	Muqtada al-Sadr
	National Reform Trend	21,055	4.4%	3	Ibrahim al-Jaafari
	Iraqi Commission for Independent Civil Society Organizations	19,875	4.1%	3	Saleh al-Mutlaq
	Independent Justice Association	17,683	3.7%	3
	Iraqi National List	17,017	3.4%	3	Ayad Allawi
	Independent Ansar Bloc	16,493	3.4%	2
Other parties		-	54.1%	0
Total		487,858	100%	30

Baghdad Governorate

Party	Total votes	Percentage	Seats	Party Leader
State of Law Coalition	641,925	38.0%	28	Nouri al-Maliki
National Accordance Front (Tawafuq)	153,219	9.0%	7	Tariq al-Hashimi
Independent Free Movement	151,093	9.0%	5	Muqtada al-Sadr
Iraqi National List	148,133	8.6%	5	Ayad Allawi
National Iraqi Project Gathering	113,787	6.9%	4	Saleh al-Mutlaq
al-Mehraab Martyr List (ISCI)	91,759	5.4%	3	Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
National Reform Trend	71,663	4.3%	3	Ibrahim al-Jaafari
Other parties	-	18.8%	0
Minority Seats:
Christian Seat: Ishtar Patriotic List	4,334		1	Sarkis Aghajan
Sebean-Mandean Seat: Independent	241		1	Ali Hussein al-Saberi
Total	1,694,930	100%	57

source: IHEC http://www.ihec-iq.com/ftpar/provinces2009/result/bagdad.pdf

Basra Governorate

Party	Total votes	Percentage	Seats	Party Leader
State of Law Coalition	239,007	37.0%	20	Nouri al-Maliki
al-Mehraab Martyr List (ISCI)	74,879	11.6%	5	Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
Gathering of Justice and Unity	34,862	5.5%	2	al-Faiz
Independent Free Movement (Sadrist)	32,020	5.0%	2	Muqtada al-Sadr
Iraqi Islamic Party	24,813	3.8%	2	Tariq al-Hashimi
Iraqi National List	21,091	3.2%	2	Ayad Allawi
Islamic Virtue Party (Fadhila)	20,932	3.2%	1	Abdul al-Hasini
Other parties	-	30.7%	0
Christian Seat: Chaldean Democratic Union Party	227	-	1	Ablahad Afraim Sawa
Total	646,109	100%	35

Dhi Qar Governorate

Party	Total votes	Percentage	Seats	Party Leader
State of Law Coalition	107,410	23.1%	13	Nouri al-Maliki
Independent Free Movement	61,929	14.1%	7	Muqtada al-Sadr
al-Mehraab Martyr List (ISCI)	51,463	11.1%	5	Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
National Reform Trend	34,255	7.6%	4	Ibrahim al-Jaafari
Islamic Virtue Party (Fadhila)	27,138	6.1%	2	Abdul al-Hasini
Other parties	-	48%	0
Total	453,806	100%	31

Diyala Governorate

Party	Total votes	Percentage	Seats	Party Leader
United Accord and Reform Front in Diyala (Tawafuq)	91,135	21.1%	9	Tariq al-Hashemi
National Iraqi Project Gathering	66,309	17.0%	6	Saleh al-Mutlaq
Kurdistan Alliance	62,219	15.0%	6	Massoud Barzani, Jalal Talebani
Iraqi National List	42,650	9.5%	3	Ayad Allawi
State of Law Coalition	27,408	6.0%	2	Nouri al-Maliki
National Diyala Alliance	25,068	5.3%	2	Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
National Reform Trend	20,140	4.3%	1	Ibrahim al-Jaafari
Other parties	-	21.6%	0
Total	430,407	100%	29

Karbala Governorate

Party	Total votes	Percentage	Seats	Party Leader
Youssef Mohammed al-Haboubi	37,846	13.3%	1	Independent
Hope of Al-Refedein	26,967	8.8%	9	(Sadrist Affiliated)
State of Law Coalition	25,649	8.5%	9	Nouri al-Maliki
al-Mehrab Martyr List (ISCI)	19,346	6.8%	4	Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
Independent Free Movement	19,215	6.4%	4	Muqtada al-Sadr
Other parties		56.2%	0
Total	291,479	100%	27

Note: While Youssef al-Haboubi got the most votes, he stood as independent candidate, thus only winning one seat for himself.

Maysan Governorate

Party	Total votes	Percentage	Seats	Party Leader
State of Law Coalition	42,214	17.7%	8	Nouri al-Maliki
al-Mehraab Martyr List (ISCI)	35,093	15.2%	8	Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
Independent Free Movement	35,075	14.6%	7	Muqtada al-Sadr
National Reform Trend	20,144	8.7%	4	Ibrahim al-Jaafari
Other parties		43.8%	0
Total	234,398	100%	27

Muthanna Governorate

Party	Total votes	Percentage	Seats	Party Leader
State of Law Coalition	22,627	10.9%	5	Nouri al-Maliki
al-Mehraab Martyr List (ISCI)	19,448	9.3%	5	Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
Al-Jumhoor List	14,520	7.1%	3
National Reform Trend	12,878	6.3%	3	Ibrahim al-Jaafari
Independent Free Movement	11,436	-	2	Muqtada al-Sadr
Gathering for Muthanna	10,867	5.0%	2
Independent National List	9,854	4.9%	2
Independent Iraqi Skills Gathering	8,941	4.4%	2
Middle Euphrates Gathering	8,322	3.9%	2
Other parties		42.7%	0
Total	207,752	100%	26

Najaf Governorate

Party	Total votes	Percentage	Seats	Party Leader
State of Law Coalition	54,907	16.2%	7	Nouri al-Maliki
al-Mehraab Martyr List (ISCI)	50,146	14.8%	7	Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
Independent Free Movement	40,186	12.2%	6	Muqtada al-Sadr
Loyalty for Najaf	30,219	8.3%	4	Adnan al-Zurufi
National Reform Trend	23,377	7.0%	2	Ibrahim al-Jaafari
Independent Najaf Union	12,766	3.7%	2
Other parties		37.8%	0
Total	338,540	100%	28

Ninawa Governorate

Party	Total votes	Percentage	Seats	Party Leader
Al-Hadbaa National List	435,595	48.4%	19	Atheel al-Nujaifi
Brotherhood Ninawa	273,458	25.5%	12	Massoud Barzani, Jalal Talebani
Iraqi Islamic Party	60,191	6.7%	3	Tariq al-Hashemi
Other parties		19.4%	0
Minority Seats
Christian Seat: Ishtar Patriotic List	13,760		1	Sarkis Aghajan
Shabaki Seat: Qussai Abbas Mohammed	12,949		1	Independent
Yezidi Seat: Yazidi Movement for Reform and Progress	6,174		1
Total	995,169	100%	37

al-Qadisiyyah Governorate

Party	Total votes	Percentage	Seats	Party Leader
State of Law Coalition	78,276	23.1%	11	Nouri al-Maliki
al-Mehrab Martyr List (ISCI)	38,972	11.7%	4	Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
Iraqi National List	27,687	8.2%	3	Ayad Allawi
National Reform Trend	26,738	8.0%	3	Ibrahim al-Jaafari
Independent Free Movement	21,742	6.7%	2	Muqtada al Sadr
Islamic Loyalty Party	14,054	4.3%	2	(Sadrist Affiliated)
Islamic Virtue Party	13,596	4.1%	2	Abdul al-Hasini
Other parties		33.9%	0
Total	332,176	100%	28

Salah ad-Din Governorate

Party		Total votes	Percentage	Seats	Party Leader
	Salahuddin Accordance Front (Tawafiq)	57,264	14.5%	5	Tariq al-Hashemi
	Iraqi National List	56,853	13.9%	5	Ayad Allawi
	National Iraqi Project Front (Groups)	35,482	8.7%	3
	National Iraqi Project Gathering	35,131	8.5%	3	Saleh al-Mutlaq
	Iraqi Scholars and Intellectuals Group	23,772	6.0%	2
	Iraqi Turkoman Front	19,013	4.8%	2	Sadettin Ergeç
	Liberation and Construction Front	18,743	4.5%	2
	National Salah ad-Din List	18,079	4.6%	2
	Fraternity and Peaceful Coexistence List	17,651	4.5%	2	Massoud Barzani, Jalal Talebani
	State of Law Coalition	14,422	3.5%	2	Nouri al-Maliki
Other parties			21%	0
Total		403,764	100%	28

Wassit Governorate

Party	Total votes	Percentage	Seats	Party Leader
State of Law Coalition	47,835	15.3%	13	Nouri al-Maliki
al-Mehrab Martyr List (ISCI)	30,712	10.0%	6	Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
Independent Free Movement	18,261	6.0%	3	Muqtada al-Sadr
Iraqi National List	14,596	4.6%	3	Ayad Allawi
Iraqi Constitutional Party	12,235	3.9%	3	Jawad al-Bulani
Other parties		60.2%	0
Total	310,194	100%	28

Coalitions

After the elections, the National Reform Trend said it has formed an agreement with the State of Law Coalition to ally in all provinces where they had won seats.^[55]

In al-Anbar, Qasim Al-Fahdawi, an independent from the Sahwa list was elected governor, he formed an administration with all parties in Anbar (most important being his own Sahwa list and al-Mutlaq's NIPG), except the Iraqi Islamic Party, which previously ruled the local government.^[56]

In Diyala the winning Iraqi Accord Front joined into a coalition with the Kurdistan Alliance, together holding a 15-seat majority out of the governorates 29 seats, they were also backed by the National Diyala Alliance, an ISCI affiliated list which held 2 seats.^[57] The Accord Front member Abdulnasir al-Muntasirbillah was elected as governor while Taleb Mohammed Hassan from the Kurdistan Alliance was made chairman of the provincial council.^[58] In Salah ad Din, where Tawafuq also came out first they tied in number of seats with the Iraqi National List, which forged an alliance with State of Law and the National Iraqi Project Gathering,^[59] they were however eventually forced to include Tawafuq into this alliance in order to get a majority. Tawafuq member Mutashar al-Aliwi became governor while an INL member became chairman.^[60]

In Muthanna were State of Law and ISCI's al-Mehraab list each won 5 seats both parties created their own alliance forming blocs of 13 seats. State of Law formed a Coalition with the National Reform Trend (3 seats), Sadrists (2 seats) and the Middle Euphrates Gathering (2 seats) while ISCI created an alliance within the al-Jumhur List (3 seats), the Gathering for Muthanna (2 seats), and the Independent National List (2 seats). The Independent Iraqi Skills Gathering which had 2 seats was split between these two blocs. However Ibrahim Salman al-Miyali, an independent which ran as part of the State of Law Coalition left and joined ISCI's block because Maliki hadn't nominated him for any important position. This gave the ISCI block a 14-seat majority and led to his election as governor and ISCI member Abd al-Latif Hassan al-Hassani being elected as chairman.^[61]

In Maysan and Wasit, the State of Law Coalition formed a coalition with ISCI. Though in most governorates State of Law tried to leave ISCI out of local governments in Maysan where they won an equal amounth of seats they decided to align with them electing Muhammad al-Sudani of the Dawa Party as governor and Hashim al-Shawki of the Iraqi Hezbollah (which was part of ISCI's List) as chairman. In Wassit, State of Law first tried to create an alliance with the Sadrists but after this broke down, they formed an alliance with ISCI. Sadrist governor Latif Hamid Turfa was re-elected as governor and ISCI's Mahmoud Abdulrida Talal was made chairman.^[62]

In Basra, State of Law's clear cut majority allowed them to form an administration on their own, appointing Jabbar Amin, as chairman and Dr. Sheltagh Aboud Sherad as governor, both were members of the Da'wa party (although Jabbar Amin belongs to the Iraq Organisation branch).^[62] However, despite their 20-seat majority in the 35-seat council, they reached out to other parties including all other parties which won seats in the Basra local council in a local unity government.^[63]

In the remaining five Shi'a governorates, State of Law succeeded in creating coalitions without ISCI. In Babil State of Law created a broad coalition with the Sadrists, the National Reform Trend, the Iraqi National List, al-Mutlaq's bloc and local parties, ISCI forming a 7-seat opposition bloc with the 2 man Independent Ansar Bloc. To create this alliance however, State of Law gave Hasan al-Zarqani and Kadum Majid Tuman, two Sadrists, the positions of governor and chairman. In Dhi Qar State of Law aligned itself with the Sadrists and the National Reform Trend, creating a 24-seat majority in the 31-seat council, ISCI and Fadhila being left out. A Dawa member: Taleb al-Hassan was appointed governor and NRT member Qusai al-Ibadi became chairman. In Karbala, the only Shi'a province were SOL didn't come out first place, they aligned themselves with al-Haboubi an independent which won the most votes, the second place Hope of Al-Refedein and the Independent Free Movement, two Sadrist blocs which together took 13 seats, only ISCI's 4-seat bloc was left out of the local government. Amaleddin Majeed Hameed Kadhem of the Dawa party became governor while Mohammed Hamid al-Musawi, a Sadrist was elected chairman. In Najaf, SOL and ISCI tied with 7 seats each however SOL managed to create a 15-seat majority bloc with the NRT and two local parties, leaving the Sadrists and ISCI in the opposition. SOL member Fayad al-Shamari was appointed chairman and despite strong opposition, Adnan al-Zurfi from one of the local parties became the new governor, prompting Asaad Abu Gulal the former ISCI governor to start a legal battle against al-Zurfi. In al-Qadissiya SOL formed a bloc with the Iraqi National List, leaving ISCI, Fadhila and the Sadrists in the opposition. Da'awa members Salim Hussein and Jubeir al-Juburi were appointed governor and chairman.^[62]

Fraud allegations

Allegations of election fraud came from both Sunni and Shi'a political parties. The most complaints came from Ayad Allawi's al-Iraqiya list which claimed election fraud had taken place, mostly in Baghdad, Salahaddin and al-Anbar, a spokesman of the group: Ali Nesaif claimed that "Some boxes were stolen from polling centers in Salahaddin as well as Diyala," while Kadhim Turki another Allawi ally said that they were not satisfied with the final results—particularly in Baghdad and Basra." They accused the counties powerful parties of vote rigging.^[64]

The Sadr Movement also complained about the election results, Amir Tahar al-Kinani a Sadrist spokesman released the following statement: "We have been mistreated in this election. IHEC was not fair -- it was biased in favor of other lists, in the final results, we dropped to third position, while SIIC took second place. How can that happen? Our bloc and SIIC won an approximately equal number of votes in Maysan -- yet we only got seven seats, while they got eight." Kinani also said their votes in Baghdad suspiciously dropped after the final results came in and he accused the Independent High Electoral Commission of making late changes to the law which benefited Maliki.^[64] He also claimed that: "There are huge differences between results announced by the electoral commission and the figures we have from our observers in some provinces."^[65]

The Iraq Awakening Coalition alleged election fraud in al-Anbar province claiming they had hundreds of documents to prove the fraud. Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi called for a vote recount in al-Anbar.^[66]

Meanwhile, radical Arab Nationalist and Sunni MP Mithal al-Alusi claimed that hundreds of thousands of voters had been denied the right to vote. This was confirmed by Ahmad Challabi who claimed it was not intentional but "a shortcoming in the electoral commission's preparations". Al-Alusi however also alleged Iranian diplomats were allowed into Iraqi polling stations and accused them of interfering in the polls.^[67]

Both the al-Iraqiya list and the Sadr Movement contested the results in court while the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council contested the results in Baghdad while the Awakening Movements contested the results in al-Anbar. In total election commity officials received 1,000 complaints of irregularities, including 20 serious allegations of fraud and that serious violations had been reported in Anbar, Diyala, Mosul, Muthana and in Baghdad. He however claimed that most lists provided no proof for their fraud allegations. Some voters however claimed to have witnessed fraud at the polling stations.^[64]

References

1. http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/09/24/Iraq.main/
2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7718687.stm
3. From bullets to ballot box – Iraq's violence-free election, The Scotsman, 2009-01-22
4. Iraqi local election law rejected, BBC, 2008-02-27, accessed on 2008-07-27
5. Sadr anger over Iraq law setback, BBC, 2008-02-28, accessed on 2008-07-27
6. Iraqi Council Ends Objection to Election Law, New York Times, 2008-03-20, accessed on 2008-03-23
7. Iraq election panel proposes delay in holding provincial voting, International Herald Tribune, 2008-07-20, accessed on 2008-07-20
8. Iraq elections law passes, but vote date in doubt, CNN, 2008-07-22, accessed on 2008-07-22
9. Iraq's presidency council vetoes provincial election bill, People's Daily, 2008-07-24, accessed on 2008-07-27
10. SIIC head, Badr Organization discuss elections law, Aswat al-iraq, 2008-07-28, accessed on 2007-07-28
11. http://www.rferl.org/content/Iraqs_Presidency_Approves_Provincial_Elections_Law/1293754.html
12. http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6511083.html
13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7706781.stm
14. Kurds Protest Iraqi Election Law, New York Times, 2008-07-16, accessed on 2008-07-20
15. Iraqi Parliament calls session on Kirkuk - International Herald Tribune
16. AFP: Iraqi parliament delays meeting on key voting law
17. Iraqis see compromise on Kirkuk standoff - International Herald Tribune
18. Parliament session on election law adjourned as dispute continues over Kirkuk_English_Xinhua
19. Iraqi Parliament fails to agree on elections law, International herald Tribune, 2008-08-06, accessed on 2008-08-06
20. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/world/middleeast/10iraq.html?ref=middleeast
21. http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6497236.html
22. http://www.rferl.org/content/Iraq_Passes_Poll_Law_Vote_Urged_Before_Jan_31/1291232.html
23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7633557.stm
24. http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/25/africa/25iraq.php
25. Iraqi parliament again puts off election vote, Reuters, 2008-08-05, accessed on 2008-08-05
26. Iraq MPs still at odds over provincial elections law, Middle East Times, 2008-08-06, accessed on 2008-08-06
27. Thousands of Iraqi Christians protest country's new provincial law, Monsters and critics, 2008-09-28
28. Christians call for representation in Iraq, Middle East Times, 2008-09-30
29. Al-Maliki backs legislative seats for religious minorities in Iraq, Associated Press, 2008-09-29
30. Iraq election law marks progress, opens political season, Christian Science Monitor, 2008-09-26
31. Sadrist leader: Iraq's unity threatened by lack of minority quota, Monsters and Critics, 2008-09-30
32. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7649196.stm
33. Iraqi parliament approves amendment for provincial election law, Xinhua, 2008-11-03
34. Changes in Iraq Election Law Weaken Quota for Women, New York Times, 2009-01-13
35. not so open, abu muqawama, 2008-09-25
36. Iraqi cabinet seeks to ban militias from elections, Reuters, 2008-04-13, accessed on 2008-04-14
37. Hopes surge with Iraq ballot, The Australian, 2009-02-07
38. Poll candidates killed in Iraq , Al Jazeera, 2009-01-30
39. Renewed Civil War In Iraq?, CBS, 2008-10-01
40. Fractures in Iraq City as Kurds and Baghdad Vie, New York Times, 2008-10-27
41. Election friction flares in Iraq's violent north, Reuters, 2009-01-02
42. Iraq's local elections could reshape power structure, Reuters, 2008-04-10, accessed on 2008-04-14
43. Iraq's Prime Minister, President in public quarrel, Tehran Times, 2008-11-24
44. Inside Iraqi politics – Part 5. A look at legislative progress: Sunnis’ and states’ rights, Long War Journal, 2008-02-28
45. Sadr launches his election campaign, Time Magazine, 2008-06-14, accessed on 2008-12-02
46. The Sadrist Parliamentary Bloc Confirms Its Support of Two Electoral Lists, Historiae, 2009-01-11
47. Iraq religious parties may face election backlash, Reuters, 2009-01-22
48. Autonomy Referendum For Iraq's South Struck Down, Radio Liberty, 2009-01-20
49. Al-Maliki allies ahead in Iraq vote, Al Jazeera, 2009-02-04
50. Iraqi Shiite party denies setback in regional vote, International Herald Tribune, 2009-02-02
51. http://www.rferl.org/content/Turnout_Over_50_Percent_For_Iraqi_Poll/1377482.html
52. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=84410&sectionid=351020201
53. http://www.ihec.iq/English/press_releases.aspx#525
54. http://www.metimes.com/Security/2009/02/05/iraqi_election_results_are_in/d9a6/
55. Fayadh declares plan to ally with SLC, National Iraqi News Agency, 2009-03-04
56. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/04/world/fg-iraq-anbar4
57. http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=108703
58. http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=111408
59. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/19/AR2009031902885_2.html
60. http://www.epic-usa.org/node/5593
61. http://www.kirksowell.com/Content/Documents/How%20Muthanna%20was%20Won.pdf
62. Provincial Governments in Southern Iraq
63. http://www.niqash.org/content.php?contentTypeID=75&id=2410&lang=0
64. Mounting Accusations of Voter Fraud in Iraq's Elections
65. Al-Sadr candidates appeal Iraq election results
66. Vote fraud claims in Iraq ballot
67. Al-Maliki allies ahead in Iraq vote

External links

• Provisional results showing lists, list numbers and percentages