Iraqis Wrap Up Voting Amid Relative Calm

Maliki will return as PM under tentative deal

(NEWSER) - Eight months after the country went to the polls, Iraqi politicians have reached a tentative deal to form a government. The Sunni-backed Iraqiya alliance has agreed to support a unity government headed by Nouri al-Maliki, who will return for a second term as prime minister, the New York Times reports. Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani will remain as president under the pact, although the role of Iraqiya leader and former prime minister Ayad Allawi in the new government has yet to be determined. More»

(NEWSER) - PM Nouri al-Maliki looks a lot like a strongman these days, using every lever at his disposal to influence Iraq’s January elections, the Washington Post reports. His men have arrested or threatened political rivals in Diyala province and Basra; last month they even arrested a councilman from the Iraqi Islamic Party. “This is a message,” said one of his colleagues: Cooperate, or else. More»

Shiite PM teams with secular Sunnis and even militant cleric

(NEWSER) - The Shiite party of PM Nouri al-Maliki has allied itself with Sunni political figures and even Moqtada al-Sadr, a major departure from earlier politics that followed ethnic and sectarian lines. writes Anthony Shadid in the Washington Post. All support a strong central government and advocate a united Iraq over a federated state—and they may even run as a grand coalition in key parliamentary elections later this year. Six weeks after provincial elections, "there is a new political map," said one Sunni who advises Maliki. More»

Al-Sadr meets with Maliki's main rival

(NEWSER) - Muqtada al-Sadr took a rare step into Iraq’s political fray yesterday, meeting with Ayad Allawi in Syria to discuss the formation of a new Iraqi government. Allawi leads the Iraqiya coalition, one of two major factions vying for control of Iraq’s parliament. Sadr is nominally aligned with the other—Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law party—but wants Maliki out of the prime minister job. More»

VP urges rivals to form new government

(NEWSER) - Joe Biden spent his surprise visit to Iraq trying to prod Iraqi politicians into forming a new government, 4 months after elections finished in a stalemate. The vice president, keen to avoid a power vacuum as US combat troops exit, also stressed that the US has no intention of abandoning Iraq, Politico reports. He urged Iraqi leaders to form a government that represents all sides. More»