IRAQ ELECTION PROCESS (SUMMARY)

Iraq's general elections, held on March 7, have been heralded as a landmark for the country's emerging democracy, but the system itself is extremely complicated.

According to the electoral law amended in 2009, the seats of the Iraqi parliament have been increased from 275 to 325 seats (In December 2009, after much dispute in parliament, the number of seats was increased to 325 for Iraq's 18 provinces. This translates roughly to 1 seat per 100,000 people.). Around 18.9 million domestic voters and 97,000 expatriates were registered. Female representatives must comprise 25 per cent of the 325 seats in the Iraqi parliament a total of 82 seats.

Elections in Iraq was different from the 2005 elections as 2005 election was based on a closed list system which meant the voter knew the parties included in the list but not the individual candidates. Such a system paved the way for widespread accusations of corruption and fraud with allegations that some parties relied on family ties and allies to allot seats. In the 2010 election the open list system means voters know the names and identities of candidates in the list they are voting for. The open list system allows the voter to express their preference for a candidate within that list. The number of such individual votes will determine which candidates will win a seat. "Open list" system allows for direct representation and greater transparency. The open-list electoral system was first applied during provincial elections in January 2009.

To win a seat in parliament the candidate or list should win the number of valid votes at least equal to the electoral divider. For example, in a governorate of 10 seats and 10,000 valid votes, a candidate or a list must earn 1,000 votes to get a seat. A party would need 163 seats to form a government, but the proportional representation system makes it unlikely that any single party would achieve that figure and a period of coalition building is expected.

Out of the total 325 seats, 310 are distributed over Iraq's 18 governorates, according to each one's population. Eight seats are reserved for minorities and the remaining seven seats are "compensatory seats". Compensatory seats are awarded to winning lists in proportion to the governorate seats they won in the country as a whole. A winning list's compensatory seats are awarded to the candidates who did not win a seat, but who received the list's highest share of individual votes when compared to candidates running for that list in other governorates.

Number of candidates

According to the Iraqi High Electoral Commission (IHEC), 6529 candidates representing 86 political entities put in their bids before nomination closed on December 20, 2009.

Iraqi National Alliance

The coalition is the successor to the United Iraqi Alliance (U.I.A.), the Shiite coalition that dominated the 2005 election but fell apart soon after. It is now the main Shiite opposition to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, and includes the powerful Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (I.S.C.I.) and the political followers of the anti-American cleric Moktada al-Sadr, as well as smaller parties. Leading candidates will be a former prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, and one of Iraq’s two vice presidents, Adel Abdul Mahdi.

This coalition primarily grew out of the United Iraqi Alliance, which held 47 percent of the seats in Parliament in 2005.

KEY LEADERS

Ammar al-Hakim

SHIITEBecame leader of the I.S.C.I. (formerly Sciri), one of the two main Shiite parties, when his father died.

Ibrahim al-Jaafari

SHIITEFormer prime minister. Left Dawa, one of the two most powerful Shiite parties, to form a new party in 2008.

Moktada al-Sadr

SHIITELeads an anti-American group with a strong militia. Loose link to the U.I.A.

State of Law Coalition

Led by Prime Minister Maliki, and dominated by his party, Dawa, which broke off from the U.I.A. Largely Shiite, it also includes 40 smaller parties from across Iraq’s ethnic and religious spectrum. The group did well in last year's provincial elections by focusing on security and the establishment of effective local governments.

Mr. al-Maliki was one of the leaders of the United Iraqi Alliance, which held 47 percent of the seats in Parliament in 2005.

KEY LEADERS

Nuri Kamal al-Maliki

SHIITECurrent prime minister. Left the U.I.A. to recast himself as secular.

Hajim al-Hassani

SUNNIFormer speaker of the National Assembly.

Sheik Ali Hatem al-Suleiman

SUNNIA powerful tribal leader in Anbar Province.

Iraqi Unity

Secular alliance between Shiites and Sunnis, particularly in sprawling Anbar Province. Led by the interior minister, Jawad al-Bolani, a Shiite, and Anbar’s most prominent tribal leader, Sheik Ahmed Abu Risha. Many of its candidates were disqualified because of pasts or sympathies with Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party. The coalition’s members considered joining other larger coalitions, but could not agree on terms.

Some of the leaders from this group were part of the Iraqi Consensus Front, which held 16 percent of the seats in Parliament in 2005.

KEY LEADERS

Jawad al-Bolani

SHIITEInterior minister. Part of a coalition that won no seats in 2005.

Sheik Ahmed Abu Risha

SUNNIA leader of the Awakening movement in Anbar Province.

Sheik Ahmed Abdul Ghafur al-Samaraei

SUNNILeads a party with Shiite and Sunni religious groups.

Iraqiya

A largely secular Sunni and Shiite coalition that has emerged as a potent challenger to the Shiite-led blocs. Led by a former prime minister, Ayad Allawi, a Shiite, and the country’s other vice president, Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni. Two of its other leaders, Saleh al-Mutlaq and Dhafir al-Ani, both members of Parliament, were disqualified from running because of alleged sympathies with the Baath Party.

Members of this group came from two coalitions, the Iraqi List and the Iraqi Consensus Front, which together held a quarter of the seats in Parliament in 2005.

KEY LEADERS

Ayad Allawi

SHIITEFormer prime minister with strong links to Western and Arab countries.

Saleh al-Mutlaq

SUNNIFormer candidate, now barred from the election.

Tariq al-Hashimi

SUNNIA current vice president. He ran with the Sunni coalition in 2005.

Iraqi Accord

Also known as Tawafiq, it is made up almost entirely of the Iraqi Islamic Party, whose fortunes have waned in recent years. Many of the more secular Sunni leaders joined other alliances, like Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, who jumped to Iraqiya. Its most prominent candidate is the speaker of the current Parliament, Ayad al-Samarrai.

This coalition is a remnant of the Iraqi Accord Front, which held 16 percent of the seats in Parliament in 2005, after many of its members joined other coalitions.

KEY LEADERS

Osama Tikriti

SUNNICurrent secretary general and co-leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party.

Ayad al-Samarrai

SUNNICurrent speaker of Parliament.

Kurdistan Alliance

The two dominant Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (K.D.P.) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (P.U.K.), have formed a formidable alliance, but face an opposition movement called Gorran, or Change. Expected to form a unified Kurdish bloc in Parliament — in keeping with the old Kurdish saying, "We have no friends but the mountains" — and could be a swing vote in determining the next prime minister.

This group has most of the same players as the Kurdistan Alliance, which held 19 percent of the seats in Parliament in 2005.

KEY LEADERS

Massoud Barzani

KURDPresident of the Kurdistan region.

Jalal Talabani

KURDIraq’s president and co-leader of the P.U.K.

Gorran

A new reform group opposed to corruption within Kurdish politics, it is expected to win about 5 percent of the vote. Election experts expect it to join the Kurdistan Alliance after the elections.

KEY LEADERS

Nawshirwan Mustafa

KURDCo-founded the P.U.K., but left in 2009 to create a Gorran.