The Assyrian Democratic Organization
Iraq’s elections have been eagerly awaited by Iraq’s majority Shia population, which looks set to dominate a democratically elected parliament, but the timing has proved unpopular with the once-dominant Sunnis, who fear they will not be adequately represented in the new government.
These fears were compounded in late December when the largest Sunni political party said it had decided not to participate because of continuing insecurity in the Sunni regions where the main rebel groups are based.
Some reports have suggested that the Iyad Allawi, prime minister, Ghazi al-Yawar, president, and the two main Kurdish parties are considering forming a political alliance to act as a counterweight to the Shia parties.
The main parties
United Iraqi List
This list has the backing of Iraq’s leading Shia religious authority, Ayatollah Ali Sistani and contains the country’s main Shia religious parties. Its members are expected to dominate the newly-elected parliament as Shias make up 60 per cent of the population.
The 240-member list groups Sciri (the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq), headed by Abdulaziz al-Hakim, and Da’awa, headed by Iraq’s vice-president Ibrahim Jaafari. Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmed Chalabi is also on the list as is the independent Shia politician and nuclear scientist Hussein al-Shahristani.
Mr Shahristani was chief of the Iraq Atomic Energy Commission until arrested in 1979, after he says he refused to help Saddam build a nuclear weapon. He was jailed at the Abu Ghraib prison for nearly a decade and escaped in 1991 after the US military bombed the prison during the first Gulf War.
Hazem al-Shaalan, Iraq’s interim defence minister, has criticised the list as “made in Iran” as many of the Shia politicians featured on the list developed close ties with Iran when they were forced into exile during the regime of Saddam Hussein.
The list, about half of which is made up of independent politicians, also includes a number of other Shia and Turkmen parties and some independent Sunnis and tribal leaders. Followers of the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr considered joining the list, but decided against because of theological differences with Mr Sistani.
Kurdistan Alliance
This list includes the Masoud Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party and Jalal Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan – the two leading Kurdish parties who have shared power in the semi-autonomous Kurdish regions of northern Iraq. The list also includes six smaller Kurdish parties. Kurds make up about 20 per cent of Iraq’s population, so this alliance is expected to win a substantial number of seats.
Iraqi list
A 240-member list that groups the Iraqi National Accord, a secular party headed by Iyad Allawi, Iraq’s interim prime minister, with several other secular parties. Mr Allawi has campaigned on security and law and order, but his association with unpopular the US occupation forces is likely to count against him.
Iraqis, a secular Sunni party led by Iraq’s interim president, Ghazi al-Yawar. The list contains 80 candidates from different sections of Iraqi society and is said to include ministers, governors, tribal leaders and clerics.
Iraqi Islamic Party
Led by Mohsen Abdel Hameed, the biggest Sunni party is dominated by members of the formerly outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. It initially presented a list of 275 candidates, but withdrew from the elections in late December because of security concerns. Sunni voters have not been able to register in Anbar province, home to the former insurgent strongholds of Falluja and Ramadi. But the Iraqi electoral commission has announced that voters in western Anbar and northern Nineveh provinces will now be able to register and vote on the same day to make it easier for those who have been too intimidated to register earlier.
People’s Union. This list of 275 candidates includes the Iraqi Communist party led by Hamid Majid Moussa, and several independents.
Independent Nationalist Elites and Cadres. A 180-candidate list representing the Shias of Sadr City – the impoverished Baghdad suburb dominated by followers of the rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. It is led by Fattahlah Ghazi al-Esmaili, a close associate of Mr Sadr.
Iraqi Independent Democrats. The secular party headed by Adnan Pachachi, a prominent Sunni politician and former foreign minister, has presented a list of 76 candidates.
Iraqi Democratic Gathering – Led by Mishaan Jibouri, this party is linked to one of the largest and most powerful Sunni Muslim tribes in Iraq – the Jibouri tribe. The party wants an end to US occupation and the return of former members of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath Party to government.
Constitutional Monarchy – a moderate Sunni-dominated group seeking the restoration of a constitutional monarchy. With 275-candidate list is headed by Sharif Ali Bin Hussein, a cousin of Iraq’s last king.
The Christian lists. These have split into two – The National Rafidayn List and the Two Rivers Coalition- because of a dispute over the order of candidates appearing on the list. But their manifesto is essentially the same, focusing on safeguarding the rights of minorities, including the Chaldeans and Assyrians. Their campaign has also underlined the importance of teaching the Assyrian language, which is spoken by about one million Iraqi Christians living in Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk.
