After a bit of a rummage I have found the website of the Iraq Elections Commission It is ironic that the website of the Iraqi government is part of the US Embassy domain.
It was almost inevitable that in any election which has any validity that the party backed by the Mujtahids would win. The difference now in Iraq is that the concept of Vilayet i Faqih is not seen as necessarily being the core of the political philosophy of the Shi'a.
To a great extent they were playing a waiting game tolerating the occupation in the hope that they would obtain political power once the music stopped. Conflict between the Shi'a and the Muwahiddun has existed for at least a century. This is likely to continue.
The divisions between the Sorani and Badinani Kurds have been put aside for the national elections (although not the elections in the Kurdish areas) with the clear objective of the Kurds of maintaining their local power base. The tensions with Turkey, Syria and Iran which could rise if any potential independent Kurdistan were to develop powered with Kirkuk oil remain.
Inevitably one of the demands of the Mujtahids will be the removal of occupying forces. Given that one of the reasons the US invaded was to obtain military bases in Iraq that will give a starting tension.
What mystifies me is why there is a delay in producing results. The counts on a polling district basis were made on the night of Sunday's election. Why it should take any substantial time to aggregate these is not clear. It may be that the US were hoping that their candidates would do better.
It still remains that our boys and girls need to be brought back to the UK as soon as is practicable.
It was almost inevitable that in any election which has any validity that the party backed by the Mujtahids would win. The difference now in Iraq is that the concept of Vilayet i Faqih is not seen as necessarily being the core of the political philosophy of the Shi'a.
To a great extent they were playing a waiting game tolerating the occupation in the hope that they would obtain political power once the music stopped. Conflict between the Shi'a and the Muwahiddun has existed for at least a century. This is likely to continue.
The divisions between the Sorani and Badinani Kurds have been put aside for the national elections (although not the elections in the Kurdish areas) with the clear objective of the Kurds of maintaining their local power base. The tensions with Turkey, Syria and Iran which could rise if any potential independent Kurdistan were to develop powered with Kirkuk oil remain.
Inevitably one of the demands of the Mujtahids will be the removal of occupying forces. Given that one of the reasons the US invaded was to obtain military bases in Iraq that will give a starting tension.
What mystifies me is why there is a delay in producing results. The counts on a polling district basis were made on the night of Sunday's election. Why it should take any substantial time to aggregate these is not clear. It may be that the US were hoping that their candidates would do better.
It still remains that our boys and girls need to be brought back to the UK as soon as is practicable.
Comments
"Only the dead have seen the end of war." - Plato
The potential for strife sourced from issues Iraq in surrounding countries is substantial.