Monday, March 12, 2007
Delay in holding provincial elections irks Sunnis
Politics
(Los Angeles Times) The long delay in holding provincial elections in Iraq has shut out Sunni Arab majorities and exacerbated sectarian tensions in provincial capitals such as Kirkuk and Baqoubah and in mixed neighborhoods of Baghdad. A Sunni boycott of elections in 2005 has left the religious sect under-represented in some provincial councils, allowing Shia politicians to dominate.
The stark political imbalance is a key driver of sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia Muslims in some of Iraq's most strategically important and heterogeneous cities, Iraqi politicians and U.S. officials say. Plans to draft legislation for local balloting have been put off indefinitely by the Shia-dominated parliament, intensifying tensions.
The stark political imbalance is a key driver of sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia Muslims in some of Iraq's most strategically important and heterogeneous cities, Iraqi politicians and U.S. officials say. Plans to draft legislation for local balloting have been put off indefinitely by the Shia-dominated parliament, intensifying tensions.
Sunni Arabs constitute at least 40 percent of Baghdad's population, but only one of the 51 members of the local provincial council is Sunni. "The absence of Sunnis on the council has an absolutely negative effect," said Azhar Abdul Majeed Hussein, the sole Sunni council member in Baghdad. "When Sunnis turn to the council for even simple needs, they find they have no representatives. This makes them feel marginalized. There is a clear sectarian spirit in the council." That sectarian spirit extends to the greater Iraqi society, Iraqi leaders and U.S. officials say, overlaying the combustible political strife.
Sunni Arabs are also under-represented in Diyala province, to the northeast, where they are believed to make up 60 percent of the population but hold only about one-third of the provincial seats. In the disputed northern city of Kirkuk, Sunni Arabs and Shias constitute about 25 percent of the population but only 15 percent of the Kurdish-dominated provincial council.
Diyala Deputy Gov. Aouf Rahoumi said Shia domination of the provincial council, which sits in Baqoubah, had a direct effect on security because Shias, partly as a result of this political strength, also dominate the army and police in the area. "The governor is Shiite, the police commander is Shiite, the army commander is Shiite, the major crimes unit commander is Shiite, the intelligence commander is Shiite, most of the division commanders are Shiite," Rahoumi, a Sunni, said. "So there are problems because they are a minority ruling over a majority."
Labels: Diyala, Kirkuk, provincial councils, provincial elections
