Religious Shi’ites left seeking Iraq coalition

AN ALLIANCE of Shi’ite religious parties won the most seats in Iraq’s new parliament, results showed yesterday, but not enough to rule without coalition partners as Sunni Arabs gained seats over previous ballots.

A top Sunni politician, meanwhile, appealed for the release of American journalist Jill Carroll, and urged US and Iraqi forces to stop arresting Iraqi women as a deadline set by kidnappers was set to expire.

The Shi’ite United Iraqi Alliance captured 128 of the 275 seats in the December 15 election, down from the 146 it won in January 2005 balloting.

It needed 138 to form a government on its own.

A Sunni ticket, the Iraqi Accordance Front, won 44 seats. A Sunni coalition headed by Saleh al-Mutlaq won 11. A few other Sunnis won seats on other tickets.

Sunni Arabs now have a bigger voice in the legislature than they had in the outgoing assembly.

Sunnis, who form the backbone of the Iraqi insurgency, largely boycotted the January vote.

Despite the results, Sunni politician Salman al-Jumaili expressed disappointment and renewed complaints about election irregularities. Nevertheless, he said the Sunnis will “take part in the coming (parliament) and government and present our (election) challenges to the Iraqi judicial system”.

An alliance of the two major Kurdish parties won 53 seats, down from the 75 they took in January.

A rival Kurdish ticket, the Kurdish Islamic Group, won five seats, a gain of three.

A ticket headed by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a secular Shi’ite, won 25 seats, down from 40 last January.

The US installed Mr Allawi as interim prime minister in 2004 and applauded his tough stand against insurgents and his secular approach to politics.

This time, however, US diplomats appeared resigned to the fact Iraqis would generally vote along sectarian lines.

US officials in Iraq had said privately they hoped only that religious Shi’ites would win fewer seats to curb their power, and more moderate Sunnis such as Adnan al-Dulaimi would fare better than hard-liners - which was the case.

Saad Asem al-Janabi, a prominent member of Mr Allawi’s ticket, said his group’s showing was “a real disappointment for the democracy in Iraq.”

“These results are not true and the Iraqi national unity is facing a real threat from foreign elements to divide Iraq,” he said in apparent reference to the Shi’ite religious parties, which some Iraqis consider tied too closely to Iran.

Sunnis fared better - and Kurds poorer - because of a change in the election law. In January, seats were allocated on the percentage of votes tickets won nationwide. Last month, candidates competed for seats by district. This meant Sunnis were all but guaranteed seats from predominantly Sunni areas.

Politicians have four days to contest the results.

US officials hope a greater Sunni voice in political affairs will help defuse the insurgency so foreign troops can begin withdrawing.

Sunni Arabs dominated political life in Iraq for generations but comprise 20% of the country’s 27 million people. Shi’ites form about 60% and Kurds 15%-20%.

Elsewhere, Mr Al-Dulaimi appealed to Ms Carroll’s kidnappers to release the 28-year-old.

They had threatened to kill her unless all female detainees were freed by yesterday. No hour was specified, and there was no indication yesterday that any prisoners had been released.

In a statement, Ms Carroll’s father Jim described her as “an innocent woman” and appealed to her captors to spare her life.