Baghdad, August 25: Getting ready for next year’s general elections, Iraqi major Shiite powers unveiled a new political coalition on Monday, August 24, with Shiite Premier Nouri al-Maliki conspicuous by his absence.
“To the brothers who are not joining us today, for any reason, we want their participation and we want to share responsibilities with them,” former premier Ibrahim Jaafari, a leading figure of the new alliance, said told a televised news conference.
The new Iraqi National Alliance (INA) will be headed by the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (ISCI), one of Iraq’s most powerful Shiite groups.
It will also include followers of Shiite scholar Moqtada al-Sadr and other smaller groups and influential individuals.
The INA reportedly includes ex-deputy premier Ahmad Chalabi, a one-time Pentagon favorite who leads the secular Iraqi National Congress.
It will replace the ruling United Iraqi Alliance, which dominated the parliament after the 2005 elections and has 128 seats in the 275-strong parliament.
The ISCI has close links to Iran, where it was founded in exile during Saddam Hussein’s rule in the 1980s.
Iranian influence in Iraq could increase should ISCI continue to lead the INA and if it emerges as Iraq’s main Shiite bloc.
“I wish that our brothers in Dawa party would be among us today and God willing, efforts will continue to include everyone, with Dawa at the top of the list,” said Vice President Adel Abdul-Mehdi, an ISCI leader.
Assertive Maliki
The public show of regret at the absence of Maliki and Dawa was a rare open glimpse at divisions between Shiite politicians who prefer to debate such issues behind the scenes.
Maliki and many in ruling Shiite parliamentary bloc have appeared on a collision course and tensions between them rose to the surface recently.
The increasingly assertive premier, who was little known when he assumed power in 2006, had demanded a greater say in the alliance and insisted on the inclusion of more Sunnis and Kurds.
“The differences between us remain massive,” Ali al-Mussawi, Maliki adviser, told AFP.
He said last-minute talks between the premier and the former allies had failed to reach a deal.
“Maliki wants a real national coalition, not just in the word but in the program and composition of the alliance.”
Maliki reportedly wants a multi-confessional coalition that includes Sunnis, Kurdish and Shiite candidates to compete in the general poll.
He hopes such an alliance can bridge the sectarian divide that has marred politics and security since the 2003 US-led invasion.
The prime minister, once seen as highly sectarian, is trying to rebrand himself as a nationalist.
He has been working to strike up partnerships with Iraq’s powerful Sunni tribes as part of efforts to form a broad-based political base ahead of the 2010 election.
Maliki has been buoyed by recent shows of support he has received from Sunni groups and tribal leaders, namely from Al-Anbar province, once a bastion of the Sunni resistance.
His Dawa party and allies performed well in the January’s provincial elections, taking the majority of votes in Baghdad and eight of Iraq’s nine Shiite-dominated provinces.
They made major gains, largely at the expense of the SIIC, which had previously dominated the southern and central provinces.
–Agencies