Iraqi National Movement Splits For The Fourth Time

Members of the Iraqi National Movement have been frustrated since the March 2010 parliamentary elections. They came out with the most seats in the legislature, but were outmaneuvered by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who was able to put together a new ruling coalition and stay in office for a second term. Because all post-2005 Iraqi governments have been national unity ones, that meant the National Movement still got important positions within the regime. The list’s leader, Iyad Allawi however, has been left out in the cold, as the council he was supposed to head will probably never be created. That has led him to make constant accusations against Maliki, and go back and forth on issues, regardless of the rest of his party's opinion. That has led to small factions breaking away from his list.

On October 15, 2011, it was reported that members of the Solution Bloc were leaving the Iraqi National Movement to form their own party. They were led by Kamal al-Dulaimi, and created the Political Process Correction bloc. They claimed they wanted to reform the country’s political system, and amend the constitution. How many members this new party had was not noted. This was the fourth time parliamentarians have left Allawi’s list. Back in March, six members of the National Movement departed to form the Youth of Iraq Party. They claimed that the list’s leaders were not considering the rank and file. Three days before that, eight other lawmakers also defected, and created the White Iraqi National Movement. They blamed Iyad Allawi for failing to implement the National Movement’s program. Finally, back in February, Qutaiba Jabouri was expelled from the party over his claim to one of the vice president positions. Jabouri later joined the White Iraqi National Movement. Allawi was able to make up for these losses when in August, it was announced that the Centrist Alliance, which consisted of the Unity of Iraq list and the Iraqi Accordance Front with a total of ten seats, was joining his list. Still, the complaints about the Iraqi National Movement have been pretty consistent. The list is deeply divided between its seven factions. Those are Allawi’s Iraqi National List, Deputy Premier Saleh al-Mutlaq’s National Dialogue Front, Speaker of parliament Osama Nujafi’s Iraqiyoon Group, Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi’s Renewal Movement, Jamal Karbuili’s Solution Movement, Minister of Finance Rafi Issawi’s Independent trend, and Salam Zubaie’s Rafidain Movement. Allawi is constantly harping about being shut out from the government, while others such as Speaker Osama Nujafi, Vice President Hashemi, and Deputy Premier Mutlaq are largely happy with their positions. Those officials also rarely consult with their rank and file. With that continuing, it’s likely that more members will leave in the future in an attempt to get their voices heard, rather than be ignored by their leaders, and have to put up with Allawi’s complaining.

Iraq’s politics are very fractious. The country’s politicians are still dealing with disputes that date back to the Saddam years. The party leaders are obsessed with holding onto power, and their relative position vis-a-vis each other. These conflicts obscure what’s really important in the country, and the needs of the average lawmaker are hardly ever heard. That’s especially true of the Iraqi National Movement that has deep divides. Future news of defections therefore, can be expected as Allawi and the others overlook their parties for their own personal gains.

SOURCES

Aswat al-Iraq, “Difference, that caused withdrawal of 10 al-Iraqiya Coalition Legislatures, settled:,” 12/18/10

- “Iraq’s Middle Alliance joins al-Iraqiya Coalition to form powerful Parliamentary opposition bloc, its MP says,” 8/2/11

Tayyeb, Mohammed, “MPs found new political bloc,” AK News, 10/15/11

Al-Zubaidi, Ahmed, “Announcing the formation of a new menu within the Iraqi,” Radio Free Iraq, 10/16/11

Iraqi Accordance Front And Unity Of Iraq Lists Try To Remain Relevant

In the 2010 parliamentary elections, the Iraqi Accordance Front and the Unity of Iraq lists only won six and four seats respectively. That was a huge disappointment for both. The Accordance Front, led by the Iraqi Islamic Party, ran in the 2005 balloting, and came away with 44 seats. The Unity of Iraq list, made up of Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani’s Constitution Party, Sheikh Ahmad Abu Risha’s Anbar Awakening movement, former speaker of parliament Mahmoud al-Mashadani, and the Sunni Endowment, were hoping to win over the Sunni and nationalist vote with their claims of securing the country. Neither was successful. From December 2009 to January 2010 the Accordance Front fractured with members like Saleh al-Mutlaq’s Iraqi National Dialogue Council departing over charges that the Islamic Party was attempting to monopolize power. Before the 2010 vote, more members left, with many of them joining Iyad Allawi’s Iraqi National Movement such as Vice President Tariq Hashemi. The Unity of Iraq’s platform turned out to be indistinguishable from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law’s, and lacked its standing with the public. That resulted in both having poor showings at the ballot box.

Since the March election not much has been heard from either list until recently. On October 10, it was announced that the two would join together in the new Iraqi Centrist Alliance. Then it appeared to be playing Allawi off of Maliki in an attempt to gain as much influence as it possible could for such a minor list with only ten seats. On October 11, a member of the new alliance said that ten other parliamentarians were willing to join, and that it would then back the National Coalition made up of State of Law and the Sadrist-Supreme Council led Iraqi National Alliance. Then on October 13, the Iraqi National Movement claimed that it had 130 parliamentarians on its side to support current Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi, a Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) member, for the premiership. The Iraqi Centrist Alliance was supposedly a member of this new group, but then the next day it denied any such alignment. 

Iraqi politics has taken one gradual step with Moqtada al-Sadr’s recent about face on supporting Maliki. Now State of Law and the National Movement are focusing upon gaining the backing of the remaining parties, such as the Kurdish Coalition and the Centrist Alliance to reach 163 seats, which is the necessary majority in parliament to begin naming a premier. This turn of events, has led the rather minor Accordance Front and Unity of Iraq lists to try to maximize their positions with Allawi and Maliki by offering their support to the highest bidder. This explains the apparent flip-flop by the Centrist Alliance that at one time said they would join the National Coalition, and then the National Movement, and then announced it would explore its options instead. If it can work out a deal before the Kurds, who are the largest unaligned bloc, make up their mind it can probably get more positions in a new government than ten seats might otherwise be able to. If not, it faces the possibility of being an after thought, a coalition left out, or added at the end, just to maintain the image of a national unity government, which means it will get less. In the end, when all the personal rivalries are sorted out amongst Iraq’s major parties, all of them will be jockeying for key posts and ministries in a new ruling coalition, which will allow them to dole out patronage to maintain and build upon their supporters. No list wants to be left out of the spoils, which is why the Centrist Alliance is now making its move.

SOURCES

Ali, Ahmed, “Iraq’s Elections Challenge: A Shifting Political Landscape,” Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 11/20/09

Alsumaria, “Accordance Front willing to engage in new government,” 5/6/10
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Aswat al-Iraq, “Iraqi Accordance, Iraq Unity blocs form new alliance,” 10/10/10

Ibrahim, Haider, “Dozens of Iraqi MPs to join National Coalition List,” AK News, 10/11/10

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