News

Maliki faces fractured opposition in election

Apr 28 2014
Iraq
Source: 
The Daily Star Lebanon

Nouri al-Maliki is bidding for a third term as Iraqi premier Wednesday without any obvious challenger, in marked contrast to the 2010 election when he faced an ex-premier in a tight race.

Supporters of the prime minister, in power since 2006, have cultivated an image of a strong leader fighting off violent extremists and outside powers.

But his critics have lambasted the 63-year-old Shiite Arab for what they say are insufficient improvements in basic services and pervasive corruption.

Baghdad election rally blasts kill 28: ministry

Apr 25 2014
Iraq
Source: 
The Daily Star Lebanon

Twin bombings at a Shiite political party's rally in Baghdad killed 28 people on Friday, a security spokesman said, just days before nationwide parliamentary elections.

A car bomb followed by a suicide attack hit the campaign rally for the Sadiqun bloc, the political wing of the Asaib Ahel al-Haq militia, interior ministry spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan said.

Dozens more were wounded, he added.

Female Candidates Fight for Rights in Iraq Campaign

Apr 21 2014
Iraq
Source: 
Naharnet.com (info Agence France Press)

With fears that women's rights are being eroded in Iraq, prospective female lawmakers are determined to push women's issues to the fore of campaigning for this month's elections.

Despite a constitutional requirement that a quarter of all MPs be women, Iraq lags on key indicators such as female employment and literacy, and there is a bill before parliament that opponents say dramatically curtails women's rights.

The Iraqi elections: Nouri Al-Maliki and his opponents

Apr 18 2014
Iraq
Source: 
Al Jazeera

The Iraqi parliamentary elections will be held on April 30th at a time when the political arena continues to be marked by an increasing number of conflicts and fragmentation. A number of political blocs are being formed due to many factors, the most prominent of which are the policies of President Nouri Al-Maliki and his investment in the Iraqi state in a way that benefits his Islamic Dawa Party. At the same time, Al-Maliki has also deepened rifts among his political opponents and has worked to link them with cases marked by corruption and laziness.

Iraqi elections: all talk, no walk

Apr 17 2014
Iraq
Source: 
Al Monitor

 

With the launch earlier this month of campaigns for the April 30 parliamentary elections, Iraq is back to debating the fact that none of the political blocs has put forward an electoral program or platform. The blocs, misunderstanding the concept of a political program, have instead reduced them to vague slogans.

 

 

Veteran Iraqi MP warns of post-election crisis

Apr 15 2014
Iraq
Source: 
Asharq al-Awsat

A “crisis” between current Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and the Sadrist movement will erupt following the legislative elections later this month, according to comments by veteran Iraqi MP Hassan Al-Alawi on Monday.

 

Alawi, an independent MP who is running in the April 30 poll as a member of the Sadrist Movement, said that a clash between the movement and the prime minister’s State of Law Coalition over the shape of the next government of Iraq was all but inevitable.

 

Campaign Curfews in Kirkuk, Iraq Because of Rising Ethnic Tensions

Apr 10 2014
Iraq
Source: 
AINA

Election campaigning in the multi-ethnic province of Kirkuk is causing tension in the disputed territory. Campaigners have come to blows, local police have put a curfew on electioneering and analysts warn of more bloodshed to come. After all, they say, in Kirkuk this isn't just about getting elected. It's about who really owns this troubled province.

Elections in Iraq, and Hope Is in Short Supply

Apr 10 2014
Iraq
Source: 
Middle East Online

"High drama and low comedy" was how the former US ambassador Ryan Crocker described the 2010 Iraqi elections. It was an accurate description although he failed to mention the real reasons behind this failure: the US occupation and the destruction of the Iraqi state, allowing the unqualified people who cooperated with the occupation to rule Iraq, imposing a constitution which Iraqis did not have the chance to read, and dividing the country on ethnic and sectarian lines.

Iraq Considers State of Emergency As Elections Approach

Apr 05 2014
Iraq
Source: 
AINA

Iraqi parliamentarians said Friday that the government is seeking to send a draft law to parliament that would allow the announcement of a state of emergency ahead of elections scheduled for April 30.

Iraqi parliamentary rapporteur Mohamed Al-Khalidi told Asharq Al-Awsat that parliament had received the draft National Safety Law on Friday, but warned that it would not be able to ratify the bill due to how late it was submitted.

UN envoy warns of "divisive" Iraq election campaign

Apr 02 2014
Iraq
Source: 
Your Middle East (AFP)

Campaigning for Iraq's April 30 elections will be "highly divisive" as parties appeal to their sectarian bases at a time of worsening violence, the UN's envoy to Baghdad has warned.

Nickolay Mladenov also pushed for Iraqi leaders to urgently pass a much-delayed annual budget within two weeks, noting that further postponing the spending bill would badly impact on drawing much-needed business and investment to the country.

Election posters fill Baghdad as campaign starts

Apr 01 2014
Iraq
Source: 
Your Middle East (AFP)

Campaigning for Iraq's April 30 general election opened Tuesday, with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki bidding for a third term as his government grapples with the country's worst bloodshed in years.

Iraqis face a long list of daily struggles, ranging from lengthy power cuts and poor running water and sewerage to rampant corruption and high levels of unemployment, to say nothing of a seemingly endless stream of attacks which have killed more than 2,200 people this year.

Iraq general election campaign begins

Apr 01 2014
Iraq
Source: 
BBC News

Campaigning has begun for next month's general election in Iraq, with Prime Minister Nouri Maliki seeking a third consecutive term in office.

No single bloc is expected to win a majority of the 328 seats in the Council of Representatives on 30 April.

However, Mr Maliki's Shia-dominated State of Law alliance is widely seen as the front-runner.

The poll comes with violence in Iraq at its highest level since the peak of the sectarian insurgency from 2006 to 2008.

La Comisión Electoral iraquí dimite en bloque semanas antes de las elecciones

Mar 25 2014
Iraq
Source: 
Europa Press

La junta de la Comisión Electoral de Irak ha presentado este martes su dimisión en bloque para protestar por las supuestas injerencias políticas, a poco más de un mes de que se celebren los comicios parlamentarios y en un momento de extrema violencia en el país por los constantes atentados.

Iraq's election commissioners resign weeks before polls

Mar 25 2014
Iraq
Source: 
BBC News

The board of Iraq's election commission has resigned in protest at what it says is political and judicial interference ahead of April legislative elections.

The joint decision was made to preserve the independence and impartiality of the commission, a statement said.

It had faced huge pressure as a result of a dispute over the interpretation of the electoral law, it added.

A clause approved last year allows for the exclusion of candidates considered not "of good reputation".

Allawi questions integrity of parliamentary elections

Mar 19 2014
Iraq
Source: 
Asharq al-Awsat

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi affirmed that the Iraqi parliamentary elections may not be held on April 30 as scheduled in light of the recent developments in the country.

A series of bombings targeted commercial infrastructure and security forces in Baghdad and its environs on Tuesday, killing at least 12 people. Car bombs were also reported in the holy city of Karbala, sacred to Shi’ites, and the southern town of Hafriyah, killing at least four others as the security situation across Iraq continues to deteriorate.

Iraq election campaigning on social networks ahead of official date

Mar 17 2014
Iraq
Source: 
Middle East Online

Iraq is preparing for general elections at the end of April. Despite the fact that all of the candidates and their parties have now been listed, election campaigning shouldn’t start officially until Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission, or IHEC, approves a date. And campaigning should also stop 24 hours before the polling centres open on April 30.

 

Pages