Iraqi court declares a poll victor at long last
Source: Agencies |
June 2, 2010, Wednesday
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IRAQ'S Supreme Court yesterday took the first key step to resolve the nation's election crisis, ratifying the results and declaring a secular alliance the biggest winner in the March 7 parliamentary vote.
Despite the court approval of the results, the government impasse remains far from over as it could take weeks if not months before lawmakers choose new leaders.
Announcing the certification, Chief Judge Midhat al-Mahmoud described as "reliable" election results that gave 91 seats to the Iraqiya political alliance led by Ayad Allawi, a former prime minister and secular Shiite. The alliance is heavily backed by Iraq's Sunni Arab minority.
Based on those results, "we decided to ratify the final results of the general parliament elections for 2010," al-Mahmoud told a news conference at the Supreme Court.
Iraqiya won two more than its top rival, the State of Law coalition led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
But none of Iraq's major political coalitions captured an outright majority in the 325-seat legislature, leaving a political vacuum.
Iraq's next government will oversee a massive United States military withdrawal from the war-battered nation and its fledgling democracy, with the number of American troops to shrink to 50,000 by the end of August.
A security pact requires all US troops to leave by the end of 2011.
Iraqi, US and United Nations officials alike fear the political void could lead to widespread violence as insurgents and extremists seek to take advantage of the chaos as the American troops leave.
The US Embassy in Baghdad called yesterday's court ruling "an important step in the right direction as Iraq undertakes what will be a historic and peaceful transition of power from one elected government to another."
"Now is the time for all political leaders to come together to put the interests of the Iraqi people foremost in their negotiations over the makeup of the new government," it said.
State of Law has demanded recounts, made fraud claims and mounted legal challenges in an unsuccessful bid to pick up more seats and knock Iraqiya out of the lead.
Under Iraq's Constitution, President Jalal Talabani now has 15 days to call parliament to its first session, where lawmakers could vote to elect a speaker and a new president.
The new president will have another 15 days to name the largest bloc, based on the number of seats it holds.
The new bloc will name the next prime minister and piece together a new government. It also will be able to reward allies with Cabinet seats and top government jobs.
Despite the court approval of the results, the government impasse remains far from over as it could take weeks if not months before lawmakers choose new leaders.
Announcing the certification, Chief Judge Midhat al-Mahmoud described as "reliable" election results that gave 91 seats to the Iraqiya political alliance led by Ayad Allawi, a former prime minister and secular Shiite. The alliance is heavily backed by Iraq's Sunni Arab minority.
Based on those results, "we decided to ratify the final results of the general parliament elections for 2010," al-Mahmoud told a news conference at the Supreme Court.
Iraqiya won two more than its top rival, the State of Law coalition led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
But none of Iraq's major political coalitions captured an outright majority in the 325-seat legislature, leaving a political vacuum.
Iraq's next government will oversee a massive United States military withdrawal from the war-battered nation and its fledgling democracy, with the number of American troops to shrink to 50,000 by the end of August.
A security pact requires all US troops to leave by the end of 2011.
Iraqi, US and United Nations officials alike fear the political void could lead to widespread violence as insurgents and extremists seek to take advantage of the chaos as the American troops leave.
The US Embassy in Baghdad called yesterday's court ruling "an important step in the right direction as Iraq undertakes what will be a historic and peaceful transition of power from one elected government to another."
"Now is the time for all political leaders to come together to put the interests of the Iraqi people foremost in their negotiations over the makeup of the new government," it said.
State of Law has demanded recounts, made fraud claims and mounted legal challenges in an unsuccessful bid to pick up more seats and knock Iraqiya out of the lead.
Under Iraq's Constitution, President Jalal Talabani now has 15 days to call parliament to its first session, where lawmakers could vote to elect a speaker and a new president.
The new president will have another 15 days to name the largest bloc, based on the number of seats it holds.
The new bloc will name the next prime minister and piece together a new government. It also will be able to reward allies with Cabinet seats and top government jobs.
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