iraq election

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Maliki's Party Wins Iraq Election

But will need to form a coalition to govern

(Newser) - A coalition led by Iraq's Shiite prime minister has emerged as the biggest winner in parliamentary elections, paving the way for him to try to form the country's next government. The Independent High Electoral Commission today released results of the election, the first since the US military withdrawal...

Epic Battle Over, Maliki Must Form New Government

He now has 30 days to pick his Cabinet

(Newser) - Incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki cemented his grip on power today, bringing an end to nearly nine months of political deadlock after he was asked to form the next government. The long-awaited request from President Jalal Talabani sets in motion a 30-day timeline during which al-Maliki must pick his Cabinet....

Iraq Sets Record: Longest Time With No Government

Not the sort of record a country wants to set

(Newser) - It's official: Iraq can now boast that it has gone longer than any country in the world between holding a parliamentary election and forming a government. At 208 days, it has now bumped the Netherlands, which went 207 days in 1977, to No. 2 on the list. The lag is...

Biden Struggles to Break Iraqi Deadlock

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...

Baghdad Blasts Kill 34; al-Qaeda Blamed

Explosions rock apartment buildings across city

(Newser) - Baghdad's top military spokesman is blaming al-Qaeda in Iraq for a series of massive explosions at apartment buildings across Baghdad that killed at least 34 people. Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, a spokesman for Baghdad's operations command center, told state-owned TV after the blasts today, "we are in a state...

Election Winner Allawi: Time for Iraq to Look After Itself

Says his coalition will be open to all rivals

(Newser) - Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi reached out to his rivals to form a governing coalition today, staking his claim as the top vote-getter in Iraq's elections and saying he hoped to build strong relations with neighboring countries. Allawi's secular Iraqiya bloc edged out chief rival Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki by...

McCain: Let's Slow Down the Iraq Withdrawal

Don't blow fragile democracy by decamping, he argues

(Newser) - In a bit of campaign deja vu, John McCain is pumping Iraq’s not yet counted March 7 election as “a triumph for Iraq—and for the United States”—and saying the US shouldn't be in a hurry to leave the country. In an op-ed piece in today’...

Iraq's Prez Demands Election Recount

Joins PM in call to 'preclude any doubt' over results

(Newser) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani today called for a recount in this month's parliamentary elections, to "preclude any doubt and misunderstanding" in the results of a tight race between PM Nouri al-Maliki and a secular rival amid widespread confusion and accusations of fraud. Al-Maliki, whose bloc is among those seeking...

Iraq Elections Revive Anti-US Sadr Party

Followers of radical cleric poised to challenge Maliki

(Newser) - As Iraq sorts out the messy results of last week's elections, an unexpected winner is coming to light: The populist party of anti-American cleric Moktada al-Sadr, long since given up for dead, suddenly emerged as the second largest Shiite block, and its strong performance is sure to shake up the...

Maliki Demands Recount as Party Lead Slips

Iraq boss accuses election panel of tampering

(Newser) - Iraq's prime minister accused the country's election commission of manipulating national vote results and ordered a recount as a rival coalition edged into the lead over his bloc with 79% of of the tally in. Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition is still ahead in the province-by-province count, but challenger...

Very Close Iraq Vote Prompts Challenges, Maneuvering

Rampant horsetrading expected as groups struggle to form government

(Newser) - Early results are coming in from Iraq’s election, and though Nouri al-Maliki’s coalition appears to have won a plurality, the race remains exceedingly close. The Iraqi National Alliance, a coalition of Shiite parties, has already called the vote counting into question, with leader Ahmed Chalabi demanding candidates be...

Lefties Cross Over Declarations of Victory in Iraq

Critics say Friedman, others, are whitewashing the war

(Newser) - Scribes all over the place are using Sunday's election in Iraq to declare a victory in the US war there, and that has critics seething that they're just trying to justify their original support for a misguided and costly adventure. Several take aim at Tom Friedman for the column today...

Dozens Dead in Iraq Election Violence

Bombs, mortar and grenade attacks foil beefed-up security

(Newser) - The death toll in Iraq climbed to at least 35 today as violence marred the second round of parliamentary elections since the US-led invasion in 2003. Hundreds of thousands of security forces stood guard as Iraqis flocked to the polls, but insurgents attempted to interrupt the process using mortars, grenades,...

Attacks Mar Iraq Election, Kill 25

But Iraqis resolute in turnout in historic vote

(Newser) - Iraqis voted today in an election testing the mettle of the country's still-fragile democracy as insurgents killed 25 people, unleashing a barrage of mortars intent on disrupting the historic day. About 19 million Iraqis are eligible to vote for who will lead the country after US forces pull out, in...

Al-Qaeda to Iraqis: Vote and Die

Terror group threatens citizens participating in Sunday's elections

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda is threatening to kill Iraqis who vote in Sunday's elections, and has proclaimed a 6am-to-6pm curfew "throughout Iraq and especially in Sunni areas." Sunnis boycotted the 2005 elections but are expected to turn out in force for this year's vote, which has already begun for Iraqis living...

Iraq Suicide Blasts Kill 30
 Iraq Suicide Blasts Kill 30 
Mar 3, 2010 5:29 AM CST

Iraq Suicide Blasts Kill 30

Days before key election, bomber hits at hospital

(Newser) - A string of three deadly suicide bombings killed at least 30 people in the former insurgent stronghold of Baqouba today, including a blast from a suicide bomber who rode in an ambulance with the wounded before blowing himself up at a hospital, police said. The bombings come just days before...

Sunni Group Boycotts Vote, Raises Iraqi Tension

Leader hopes other Sunni groups will join

(Newser) - A top Sunni Arab lawmaker banned from running in Iraq's March 7 election withdrew his entire party from the campaign today and called on other groups to join the boycott, a move that threatened to undermine the credibility of the vote and raise sectarian tensions. In announcing his decision, Saleh...

Iraq Halts Preparations for Jan. Election

Fate of vote, US withdrawal in question as VP vetoes law

(Newser) - In a move that could derail both Iraq's fragile democracy and US plans to withdraw troops by next summer, all preparations for elections in January have ground to a halt. The Iraqi election committee stopped "all our activities and work" today after the country's vice president vetoed part of...

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