salim Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 Let us move on.. What will the new government looks like, a government that about 50 Iraqi beloved lifes was paid to ellect.. Election Over, Iraqi Shiites Confront Internal Rivals By DEXTER FILKINS Published: February 1, 2005 AGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 31 - The ballots are still being counted, but the hard bargaining to form a new Iraqi government has begun. Less than a day after millions of Iraqis flocked to the polls, the leaders of the major political parties said they were reaching out to potential allies in what is almost certain to be a coalition government. Between rivals, candidates signaled that the battle lines had been drawn. The most likely contest, political leaders here say, will pit the largest coalition of Shiite parties, the United Iraqi Alliance, against a group led by the interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi. The struggle, in addition to setting the composition of the next government, will raise fundamental questions about the nature of the new political order. Principal among them, these political leaders say, will be the role of Islam in governing the country and the relative influence of the United States and Iran. On Monday Dr. Allawi, a secular Shiite and close ally of the United States, stood before television cameras and offered himself as a leader who could hold this fractious country together. The speech appeared as a direct challenge to the United Iraqi Alliance, which is likely to be a big winner. Much of its popularity is due to the backing of Iraq's pre-eminent Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. "It is time to put the divisions of the past behind us and work together to show the world the power and potential of this great country," Dr. Allawi said. "The whole world is watching us." Dr. Allawi's speech drew the immediate attention of Shiite leaders, who are worried that their sprawling coalition could be picked apart by a savvy and aggressive politician. Of the United Iraqi Alliance's 228 candidates, about half are unaffiliated with a political party, and the coalition's leaders worry that those independent candidates might be wooed by promises from other politicians. Shiite leaders acknowledge the fragility of their coalition. "Yes, we are concerned that the coalition could come apart," said Ali Faisal, a senior leader of the Party of God, a member of the Shiite coalition. "But we don't think it will fall apart for Allawi." Shiite leaders say they are confident that the United Iraqi Alliance will end up the leading vote getter, even if it does not capture an outright majority in the new assembly. The alliance, dominated by the largest Shiite parties, Dawa and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Republic of Iraq, or Sciri, has declared its commitment to a secular Iraqi state. Despite its religious roots, fewer than a half dozen of the 228 candidates it fielded are clerics. Still, even if the Shiite coalition captures a majority of the votes, and hence a majority of the seats in the 275-member assembly, that would not be enough to form a government. For that, the coalition would need to be able to secure a two-thirds majority. The reason lies in the complicated rules in the interim constitution. Under the charter, the national assembly must first pick a president and two deputies by a two-thirds majority. The president and deputies then pick a party or coalition, along with its choice of a prime minister, to form a government. In practical terms, that means the group that ultimately takes power needs the same backing as the president the deputies: two-thirds of the assembly. Shiite leaders believe they have a formula for securing the necessary two-thirds majority: through a deal with Kurdish leaders. So if Dr. Allawi's slate of candidates, called the Iraqi List, or a coalition that he patches together wins just one-third of the assembly seats, he would be in a position to block the ascension of the Shiite coalition to power. Then, political leaders here say, Dr. Allawi could be in a position to offer himself to the coalition as a candidate for prime minister, or he could try to pick off members of the Shiite coalition and cobble together a coalition for himself. Barring that, Dr. Allawi could use his effective veto power to extract political concessions from any new government. Everything will depend on how Allawi does relative to the Shiite coalition," said an aide to an Iraqi political party leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "Allawi's chance will come if the Shiite coalition breaks up." To prevent that from happening, the leaders of the United Iraqi Alliance are working feverishly to shore up their group. It is ungainly alliance: secular technocrats, like Adil Abdul Mahdi, the current finance minister, and Ahmad Chalabi, the exile leader, as well as acolytes of Moktada al-Sadr, the rebel cleric who led several armed uprisings against American forces. In addition, Dawa and Sciri, the two main Shiite parties in the coalition, are longtime rivals. Advertisement Shiite leaders are hoping that the same powerful force that brought the Shiite coalition together, Ayatollah Sistani, will be able to hold it together once the ballots are added up. "Sistani is blessing this list," said Adnan Ali, a leader of Dawa. "If anyone makes a side deal, he will lose in the eyes of society." One of the main stresses inside the Shiite coalition stems from a division over the group's choice for prime minister. The two main candidates are Dawa's leader, Ibrahim Jafari, and Mr. Mahdi of Sciri. Leaders of both parties have begun making deals to gain the support of their candidates within the coalition. The struggle for the prime minister's job does not end there. Two other leaders of the Shiite coalition who are not affiliated with either Dawa or Sciri, Mr. Chalabi and Hussein Shahristani, are also said to be seeking the job. "Believe me, the back-room dealing has already begun," said a senior leader of the Shiite coalition, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. As he hinted in his speech on Monday, Dr. Allawi may try to offer himself as a secular alternative to the Shiite coalition, and as someone unlikely to fall under the influence of the Iranian government. Some Iraqi political leaders, especially Sunnis and the Kurds, have expressed concerns that some of the principal members of the Shiite coalition, like Sciri's leader, Abdul Aziz Hakim, are too close to the Iranian government, which supported Sciri in exile during the years of Saddam Hussein's rule. Some also worry that the Shiite coalition could ultimately come to be dominated by clerics like Mr. Hakim and Ayatollah Sistani from behind the scenes. "Perhaps the majority of the members have connections with religious groups," Adnan Pachachi, a secular Sunni political leader, said of the Shiite candidates. Dr. Allawi, a former member of the Baath Party and a confidant of the Central Intelligence Agency, casts a wide political net. As a counterweight to the United Iraqi Alliance, he could, Iraqis say, draw together a coalition of Sunnis, secular Shiites and possibly Kurds. The problem for Dr. Allawi is that however solid such a coalition may look on paper, in practice it could prove difficult to bring together. Dr. Allawi's relations with the Kurds, for instance, have been strained over the ethnic issue of Kirkuk, the ethnically mixed northern Iraqi city that Kurdish leaders want to bring under their control. "The secular element is not unified," Mr. Pachachi said. "It does not work as one." The prospect of having Dr. Allawi loom as a big player in the next government has prompted irritation from some members of the Shiite coalition, who say his popularity stems largely from an expensive television campaign. One of Dr. Allawi's critics is Mr. Chalabi, a cousin and a political rival. "I don't think it was a massive endorsement," Mr. Chalabi said of the voting. "Everyone knows that his mandate is a Madison Avenue mandate." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_tajer Posted February 3, 2005 Report Share Posted February 3, 2005 http://www.elaph.com/Politics/2005/2/38260.htm In Arabic A letter sighed some scholars in lmarjea of najaf, praising the Iraqi people and assure that only the Iraqi people is one who set legitamacy on any government. Not the occupation , NOT some one who cliam him self as the religious representative of a certain portion of Iraqis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_tajer Posted February 3, 2005 Report Share Posted February 3, 2005 http://www.iraq.net/displayarticle6443.html About the new government Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_tajer Posted February 3, 2005 Report Share Posted February 3, 2005 http://elaph.com/ElaphWriter/2005/2/38294.htm In Arabic. Intersting call to have a woman as the presidend.. Women are the majority both in Iraq and in the couragious queues of voting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted February 3, 2005 Report Share Posted February 3, 2005 All Iraqi citizen's should observe their elect assembly members for they are Your local offical and should vote to ensure your freedom, safety and help establish unity amoung all the elected officals representing all the Iraqi people. Their power comes from you (the voter), it is not they that given you your freedom's but GOD and the will of all Iraqi people. May peace and a good life for all Iraqi people begain now. The power of the people is greater than the power of any one man holding office, if they remain united in their common goal-Freedom and Equality for ALL Iraqi (excluding none). This fight for Freedom is the people fight, you vote was that first step and victory for all Iraq! The journey begins, the power is yours! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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