Scott Sadler

After months of interruptions, the high court in Iraq finally certified the March election results thereby removing another barrier as the road to forming a government proceeds. The results stand with former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi in the lead with 91 seats and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a close second garnering 89 seats. The political jockeying will begin in earnest. There’s talk of weeks and months until the Iraqi people see that day. (more)

It appears that the certification of election results in Iraq is looming. Barring any additional roadblocks, the vote will be qualified in the coming days. Nearly three months after the Iraqi people went to the polls, is there light at the end of the tunnel? To hear Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, you’d think that everything is fine and dandy. Mr. Maliki acknowledged to the Washington Post that “violence exists, but not because the government has not been formed.” Oh really? How much longer do the people of Iraq have to wait? (more)

Every day there’s a new development in the Iraqi election dispute and more frequent, fresh attacks. “I really don’t know how it will end,” said former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. He may not see the finish line but the U.S. military does. “We are on track with our responsible drawdown plan,” said Maj. Gen. Stephen Lanza, a U.S. military spokesman. (more)

The last few weeks have shown an uptick in violence throughout Iraq in comparison to the relative calm the nation has experienced over the last few years. Iraq is in far better shape but the inability to form a government over two months after the March 7 elections has given the insurgency another reason to strike. It’s also another reason that Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, could delay the start of the Aug. 31 “waterfall” drawdown of 46,000 U.S. Soldiers by one month to June. A senior official in Baghdad told the Associated Press that “from a military perspective, the best way for us to maintain security is to hold as many forces on the ground until we need to redeploy them. It’s really prudent, given the political conditions are unsettled, for (Odierno) to wait as long as he can.” (more)

Despite the fact that “the United Nations, the U.S. Embassy, and the Arab League as well as Iraqi election officials have all declared the election free of systematic fraud,” as the Associated Press points out, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is hell-bent to make sure he remains the leader of Iraq.   Two months after the March 7^th elections, voters are showing signs of frustration.  “The manual recount just delays the political process and it will destabilize the security situation," one resident told the AP. (more)

Instead of bringing reconciliation to his country, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is throwing up barrier after barrier.  On Friday, he became incensed over former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi’s call for further international involvement stemming from the March 7 elections.  This, despite the fact, that Iraq’s foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, suggested intervention by the international community may be needed.  “We will not allow any foreign interference in our internal affairs that will breach our sovereignty," Mr. Maliki said.  Breach our sovereignty?  It appears the Prime Minister is well on his way to accomplishing this himself. (more)

“We are the winners. We have won the elections. It is our constitutional duty to form the government.” This was the angry reaction of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, the winner in last month’s Iraqi elections. The news this week that the courts disqualified 52 candidates for alleged ties to the Baath party has thrown the outcome of the vote into deeper uncertainty and heightened fears of sectarian violence. At least one of the candidates comes from Mr. Allawi’s bloc. As if that wasn’t enough, Mr. Allawi is also calling for a caretaker government to prevent any attempt to “steal the will of the Iraqi people.” His bloc has further asked for the extension of the outgoing parliament “for the purpose of monitoring the executive branch” until a new one is in place. (more)

Even as al-Qaida continues their last-ditch efforts at thwarting the ongoing progress in Iraq, and the election fiasco continues, our military involvement is slowly winding up.  The U.S. military says that by Sept. 1, 50,000 U.S. Soldiers will remain at 96 bases throughout Iraq. “Operation New Dawn” will commence. (more)

Just days after the Iraqi court ordered a recount of the province that includes Baghdad, now comes word that former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi wants to go deeper in the process. “What worries us now, although we are committed to a manual recount and we believe in it very strongly ... is why other areas have not been included,” Mr. Allawi said in remarks earlier this week. (more)

It’s official. An Iraqi court has ordered a partial recount of the March 7 election results despite assurances from the United States and United Nations that the vote was fair and free. Shortly after the elections, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called the results “unacceptable and unreasonable” and demanded a recount. The ruling is limited to the province that includes Baghdad but the Prime Minister hopes that’s enough to move him ahead of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi in a vote that is reminiscent of the 2000 Presidential election in the United States. “Baghdad, with a total of 70 seats, was by far the biggest prize for parties competing,” according to AFP. Mr. Maliki has said he will accept the final results but the potential for Mr. Allawi to be upended has everyone on edge and fearful of looming violence. (more)

The political jockeying in Iraq continues as the Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, demands neighboring countries stay out of Baghdad’s politics. “Some are talking through the media as if they were our guardians,” Mr. Maliki told The Los Angeles Times on Monday. It is reported that the Iraqi Shiite leader, Ammar al-Hakim, has met with Saudi King Abdullah to discuss “issues of mutual interest.” Other political factions in Iraq, including the Sadrists, have also met with the Saudi King, perhaps prompting Mr. Maliki’s comments. (more)

The votes are in from Muqtada al-Sadr’s Iraqi “referendum” and the winner is … neither of the front runners, former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi or current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. It’s the former interim Prime Minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who served from 2005-06. So, why did the Sadrist movement pick Mr. al-Jaafari? (more)

Qassim Atta, a spokesman for Baghdad’s security apparatus, perhaps said it best on Tuesday: “We are in a state of war with what remains of Al Qaeda.”  The attacks since last Friday leave no doubt that Al Qaeda is still attempting to disrupt and destroy any chance for Iraq to move forward.  However, let’s be candid; they’ve had a lot of wind taken out of their sail.  “What remains” were the key words of Mr. Atta’s comments.  One can only look to the first national elections in 2005 to see that. Back then, there were 478 suicide bombers in that year alone.  Each year thereafter has resulted in a decline with only 76 reported for 2009.  All of this to say that Iraq still has a difficult road to travel but improvements in security, for example, are moving in the right direction. (more)

Over the last few weeks, he has been called “kingmaker” in Iraqi politics.  Now, the real question looms.  Could Moktada al-Sadr be positioning himself for a future run as the Iraqi Prime Minister?  As noted in a previous column, let there be no doubt that he remains one of the most influential religious and political figures in Iraq today. “Sadr is emerging as a dominant player in deciding how Iraq's next government will be formed,” says The Washington Post. (more)

As if things couldn’t get any more unsettling in Iraq, word came down this week that the Justice and Accountability Committee is recommending six individuals, elected to parliament in the March 7 elections on the winning ticket of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, be dismissed. (more)

The developments in Iraq over the past 60 hours have been anything but dull. It’s always amazing what an election can do. The results, announced Friday night, have thrown the country into a state of disarray. It’s true that former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi garnered the most votes in the Parliament but the current Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, is pulling out all of the stops to make sure Allawi doesn’t get first digs at forming a government. (more)

The results from the March 7 elections were announced in Baghdad Friday night and what an upset it was.  Former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi narrowly beat out current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki taking 91 seats in the Iraqi Parliament.  Maliki’s party won 89 seats.  That’s close and a severe setback for Maliki.  However, the outcome doesn’t necessarily guarantee Allawi his old job back, only allowing him to be the first to try to form a government.  Maliki did win 26 seats in the key Baghdad province, two more than Allawi. (more)

The March 7 national elections have left Iraq divided. Final results are expected today and the political jockeying is in full swing. (more)

Last July, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the American people “it is perhaps a measure of our success in Iraq that politics have come to the country.” No where is that more evident than in the ongoing vote count from the March 7 parliamentary elections. With 95 percent of the ballots tallied, former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi narrowly leads the current prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, by about 11,000 votes out of 12 million votes cast. Election officials said the results of a 100 percent preliminary count would be made public on Friday. (more)

Today marks the 7th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War and it’s quite remarkable to see just how far this country has come. In looking at the preliminary election results it’s hard not to reflect on the 2000 presidential election in the United States. It’s close and the votes are still being tallied. At one point this week, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki trailed his closest contender, former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. Now, with al-Maliki back in the lead, some 40,000 votes separate their coalitions out of 83 percent counted. He is fighting for his political life. (more)