Iraq's election results reflect sectarian divisions

Iraq’s electoral commission released partial and preliminary results today from the last week’s elections that showed Shiite and Kurdish parties dominating in provinces where they are the predominant group.

The commission, however, only released preliminary results from one province where Sunni Arabs are up the majority of the population. The results released so far show that the votes were divided along ethnic and sectarian lines.

In predominantly Sunni Arab Salahuddin province, where Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit is located, parties and tickets affiliated with the religious minority looked set to win an overwhelming majority.

Results from 89 percent of the ballot boxes showed three Sunni Arab tickets taking the majority of the votes.

Adnan al-Dulaimi’s Iraqi Accordance Front was winning 33.42% of the votes, followed by the Iraqi Front for National Dialogue receiving 19.46% and the Iraqi National Front garnering 10.62%.

The Shiite United Iraqi Alliance received just 7.43%, while the Kurdistan Coalition List – an alliance consisting of the two main Kurdish parties – trailed with 4.29%. There were no figures provided for the number of votes.

In Baghdad province, results from 89 percent of the ballot boxes showed the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance ahead with 58% of the vote in Iraq’s biggest electoral district.

The electoral commission said the alliance received 1,403,901 votes, followed by the Sunni Arab Iraqi Accordance Front with 451,782 votes, and former prime Minister Ayad Allawi’s Iraqi National List ticket with 327,174 votes.

Baghdad is Iraq’s biggest electoral district with 2,161 candidates running for 59 of parliament’s 275 seats.

Baghdad is a mixed province but has a large Shiite population, with many of them living in the capital’s sprawling Sadr City slum.

Results from southern Basra province, also mixed but predominantly Shiite, saw the clergy-backed alliance significantly ahead, winning 612,206 votes with 98% of ballot boxes counted. Allawi, a secular Shiite, was in second place with 87,134 votes, while the accordance party trailed with 36,997.

In predominantly Shiite Babil, 95% of the ballot boxes had the United Iraqi Alliance receiving 417,007, the Iraqi National List 48,383, the Iraqi Accordance Front 31,445 and the Iraqi Front for National Dialogue received 2,978.

Kurdish parties were overwhelmingly ahead in their three northern provinces.

In Dahuk, results from 93% of ballot boxes showed the Kurdistan Coalition List, an alliance consisting of the two main Kurdish parties, received 344,717 votes representing 89% of votes counted.

The Kurdistan Islamic Union followed with 28,401 ballots, while the Rafidian party, which represents Assyrian Christians, trailed with 4,696. Allawi received just 2,327 votes.

In Irbil, results from 76% of ballot boxes showed the alliance winning 570,098 votes – or 95%. The Islamic union won 19,612, or 3.24%, while Allawi’s ticket had just 2,420.

In Sulaimaniyah, results from 98% of ballot boxes showed alliance ahead with 671,814 votes, followed by the Islamic union with 83,208 - and trailed by Allawi with 1,806.