November 20th, 2009 by Zack

Following Iraq’s Sunni Arab vice president Tareq al-Hashemi’s decision to veto the new election law, Reuters is reporting that the Iraqi parliament has scheduled a session for Saturday to vote on whether they would accept Hashemi’s veto.  A law must be passed within the next few days to avoid further delaying the January elections.

Ahmed Ali has written a piece explaining the changes put forth by the proposed election law as well as analyzing the strengths of coalitions that have formed throughout the country. He argues that any election delay “could have serious long-term implications for Iraq, the region, and the United States unless a political compromise is found soon.”  Joost Hilterman has recorded a podcast discussing public opinion and the state of Iraqi politics ahead of the election; he believes PM Nouri al-Maliki will fair well in the election, but that the people are disenchanted with the coalition government’s ability to make change.

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has posted an analysis of the 2010 Iraqi elections, including the tensions that pushed the presidential council to call for greater minority representation and the Kurdish opposition to population counts that sparked the need for a compromise election law in the first place. A New York Times editorial is positive about the fact that these disagreements are being carried out in the legislature and that the U.S. must keep its withdrawal timetable on track to pressure new compromises and prevent this battles from crippling the democratic system.  Special representative for the U.N. secretary-general in Iraq, Ad Melkert, gave a speech at the New America Foundation expressing cautious optimism over Iraq’s security and the country’s ability to draw international investment, despite rampant corruption.

In related news, Myriam Benraad at Project Fikra warns that Al-Qaeda still poses a threat to Iraq as the group shifts its tactis and evolves into a more Iraqi force.  The NY Times is also reporting that Sunni Awakening Council leader Adil al-Mashhadani was sentenced to death for kidnapping, sparking claims that the Shiite government is attempting to weaken Sunni leadership.

Posted in Diplomacy, Elections, Iraq, Journalism, Political Parties, Reform, US foreign policy |