Iraqi Shias win election victory

[muriel_volestrangler]

Iraq's Shia-led United Iraqi Alliance has won the country's parliamentary elections, but failed to obtain an absolute majority.
...
ELECTION RESULTS
United Iraqi Alliance: 128 seats
Kurdistan Alliance: 53
Iraqi Accord Front (Sunni): 44
Iraqi National List (secular): 25
Iraqi Front for National Dialogue (Sunni): 11
Other parties: 14
...
Those who do not accept the results will have two days to appeal before they are certified as definitive.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4630518.stm

To elect the president, a two thirds majority vote is needed - ie 184 votes. The UIA plus the Kurdistan Alliance add up to 181 if this result stands, so they'll have to talk with someone else - but they might get away with one or two of the really small parties if they have to. Let the haggling commence ...

[stray cat]

1. Not a majority but an awfully strong showing

[enigma000]

2. The UIA is under pressure to include Sunnis in the government

I wonder which Sunni party will join.

[merwin]

3. The Sunni parties won more than the Kurds?

Somehow I find that hard to believe...

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. There was a slight rule change from the previous election

A change in the election law was one of the reasons why Sunnis fared better - and Kurds worse - than in the previous poll.

In the January 2005 balloting, seats were allocated based on the percentage of votes won by tickets won nationwide. However, in the December vote candidates competed for seats by district, meaning Sunnis were all but guaranteed seats in predominately Sunni areas.

Sunnis - who dominated political life in Iraq for generations and were favoured during Saddam Hussein's dictatorship - are believed to comprise around 20% of the country's estimated 27 million population. Shia form around 60% of the population and Kurds between 15% and 20%.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1691278,00.html

[merwin]

5. LOL. That's great...