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Preliminary Election Results by Political Party - 2009 Provincial Elections
Feb 17, 2009 - Institute for t...
POLITICAL PARTIES KEY
SHIITE ISLAMIST PARTIES
Dawa/State of Law Party: The party of Prime Minister Nouri Kamal Al‐Maliki. It is Shiite Islamist but has tried to
play down its religious roots and present itself as nationalist. Early indications were that it was going to perform
strongly in these elections, benefiting from Mr. Maliki’s current high personal standing as a leader with a good
security record.
(ISCI) Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq/Martyr of the Pulpit: The election platform of Abdul Aziz al‐Hakim’s Shiite Islamist party known by its initials ISCI. Until now the most powerful party in the government. Extremely close to Iran, where most of its senior figures spent years in exile under Saddam Hussein, and where its Badr Brigades militia was trained, although it has sought to distance itself from Tehran in recent years. The Badr Brigades were absorbed into the Iraqi army and police, giving it great power. Early indications were that it would lose ground, and it did.
(MSI) Sadrists: The radical populist Shiite cleric Muqtada al‐Sadr is not contesting these elections, but his
movement has thrown its backing behind two parties ‐ Integrity and Construction and the Independent Free People’s Trend.
SHIITE MODERATE PARTIES
(INL) Iraqi National List/Iraqiya: The moderate secular list led by the former Baathist turned exiled Saddam
opponent Ayad Allawi emphasizes its non‐sectarian, technocratic approach to governance. Allawi, an American
and British favorite who was appointed unelected Prime Minister in 2004 by the United States. Admired by some
as a strong secular Shiite leader who in 2004 cracked down equally on troublesome (Sunni) insurgents in Falluja
and (Shiite) militiamen in Najaf. Did not perform as well as some secular moderates hoped.
(Al‐Juburi) Yousef Majid al‐Habboubi: A secular independent Shiite candidate who was the deputy governor underthe Baathist regime before the 2003 U.S. led invasion. He became Mayor of the city of Karbala, and helped developthe city, particularly the square between the city’s two imposing golden shrines to the Shiite imams Hussein andAbbas. This earned him considerable popularity in Karbala, whose population is proud of its status as the secondholiest Shiite site in Iraq, after neighboring Najaf.
SUNNI PARTIES
Tawafiq/Iraqi Accordance Front/Iraqi Islamic Party: A coalition of Sunni Islamist parties dominated by the IraqiIslamic Party, a long time opponent of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party. The main Sunni coalition dominated by VicePresident Tariq al‐Hashemi and Adnan al‐Dulaimi. Tawafiq’s origins are Islamist, but it has run primarily as the party that represents Sunni interests. It faces its first serious challenge this year from the parties of the tribal Sahwa (Awakening) movement, primarily in once‐troubled Anbar Province.
Al‐Hadba: Al‐Hadba is a coalition of mostly Sunni politicians in Nineveh province who boycotted the last provincial elections in 2005, effectively handing over political power to the Kurdish minority. Al Hadba’s candidates
campaigned heavily on local grievances over Kurdish dominance, complaining that the province’s government
failed to provide basic services and security in one of Iraq’s most volatile regions.
(INPG) Iraqi National Project Group: A coalition of Sunni Awakening Councils led by Sheik Ahmed Abu Risha, a tribal Sheik in Anbar Province.
Source: Farrell, Stephen. “Election: Preliminary Results”. Baghdad Bureau. The New York Times, February 5, 2009.
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