Roundup: Iraqi parties gear up for year-end elections

Realigned Iraqi parties and coalitions have fully geared up for the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections, which many analysts believe will lead to considerable changes in the country's political landscape.

Registration ended on Friday with 21 coalitions and 230 political parties and entities set to run in the December elections.

Five groups are widely expected to dominate the race -- the Shiite list, the Kurdish bloc, two Sunni Arab parties and a secular coalition led by former prime minister Iyad Allawi.

Some analysts believe that the Shiite alliance and the Kurds will lose some seats due to disillusionment among the Iraqis caused by continuous violence and instability.

The Shiite list, the United Iraqi Alliance, won 141 seats in the Jan. 30 elections while the Kurdish bloc, grouping two major Kurdish parties, garnered 76 seats.

Dr. Yousif Hemdan, a Baghdad-based political observer, said the Shiites and the Kurds will certainly lose some seats in the coming elections.

Shihab al-Temimi, head of the Iraqi Journalists Union, said, " The Kurds will keep the same number of seats in the new parliament as they do now, but the Shiite bloc will retreat, despite the joining of radical Shiite cleric Moqtoda al-Sadr because the Shiite-dominated government has left a negative impression in the Iraqi people for failing to stem out violence and provide basic services."

But he added, "The new Iraqi House of Representatives ( parliament) will still be mainly made up of three major blocs, namely, the Shiite alliance, the Kurdish coalition and Allawi's bloc."

"All the other parties will not gain a big share," he said.

"Nonetheless, the new political stage in Iraq will witness stability and a decrease in terrorist attacks," he concluded.

Meanwhile, the Sunni Arabs, accounting for about 20 percent of Iraq's population, are expected to participate actively in the December vote.

Most of the Sunnis boycotted or shunned the January elections that formed the transitional parliament, where Sunnis have only managed to seize eight seats.

Political analyst Muhammed Salih al-Aaswad expected a high Sunni turnout in the year-end ballot, which he said would lead to a bigger Sunni share of seats in the new legislature.

"With a big turnout, I believe the Sunnis can garner at least 40 seats," he said.

In addition, analysts expect Allawi's coalition named "Iraqiya" to get more seats than the current 40 in the parliament.

Allawi, former prime minister and a secular Shiite, brought out a slate gathering prominent Sunnis such as Vice President Ghazi al- Yawar and Parliamentary Speaker Hajem al-Hassani.

Analysts said the failure of the Shiite-and-Kurdish-dominated government in improving security will prompt Iraqis to cherish new hopes on Allawi's return to the government.

Although Allawi's interim government did not achieve major accomplishments in the security situation, many Iraqis think it is due to the short period of his rule.

"Allawi's coalition, which is not strong in the current parliament, is expected to become more powerful in the new legislature," said Amir Hassan Faiyadh, professor of political science in Baghdad University.

The new four-year-term parliament will have 275 seats, of which 230 are distributed among 18 provinces by proportional representation, according to the Iraqi Electoral Commission.

The remaining 45 seats will be allocated for parties which fail to win seats in any one province but garner enough votes nationwide for at least one seat.

Source: Xinhua