Project on Middle East Democracy

Project on Middle East Democracy
The POMED Wire Archives


Category: Political Parties

Iraq: Government Finally Seated…Now What?

December 22nd, 2010 by Jason

With the Iraqi government finally in place, commentators and average Iraqis are beginning to take stock of the nine-month process and look toward the future. Liz Sly, writing in The Washington Post, profiles Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the claims that he may be “another Iraqi strongman in the making,” noting that his critics say he has an “authoritarian streak.” Sean Kane of the United States Institute of Peace argues at The Middle East Channel that “Iraq’s Parliament now offers the best hope for political change and progress towards the consolidation of Iraq’s fledgling democracy.” Kane goes on to say that the new found power of Speaker Osama Najafi of Iraqiyya and his First Deputy Qusayal-Suhail, a leading member of the Sadrist coalition, is “noteworthy and represents an opportunity,” for the parliament to exert itself more prominently into Iraqi politics.

Meanwhile, the BBC and The New York Times blog At War both provide perspectives from average Iraqis. One young man from Baghdad told the BBC that the new government “‘is like running a car with cooking oil.’” And a man in Najaf told At War “‘The same people who were against the government and attempting to weaken it by all means portrayed themselves as trouble solvers. […] Now they are part of it. Let’s see what they will bring to the people. I hope they are honest.’”


Posted in Iraq, Political Parties, Sectarianism | Comment »

Lebanon: Khamenei Dismisses STL, “Justice is More Important” Than Stability

December 21st, 2010 by Jason

Speaking during a meeting with the Qatari emir yesterday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) “‘a rubber-stamp one whose verdict is null and void whatever it is.’” The Daily Star reports that the statement from the leader of Iran was not well received by many in Lebanon. “Labor Minister Butros Harb criticized Khamenei’s remarks, saying that it was up to the Lebanese to decide, ‘and not for others to dictate to them how to deal with the tribunal.’” Also in The Daily Star, Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir worries about a possible take over by Hizbullah: “The way Hizbullah is acting and their talk about becoming a significant force leads us to believe that if the party continues to pursue its plan it could seize power.” The patriarch also contradicted the recent assertion by Roger Cohen that stability “trumps” justice, saying “‘Justice is justice and if we sacrifice it once, we could sacrifice it many times. Stability is important but justice is more important and guarantees stability.’”


Posted in Hezbollah, Iran, Lebanon, Political Parties, Sectarianism | Comment »

Iraq: Maliki Cabinet Confirmed

December 21st, 2010 by Jason

The Iraqi parliament confirmed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s cabinet today, ending the country’s political deadlock. Reuters Africa  has a list of the “top officials” in the government and the AFP has compiled a timeline documenting the nine month impasse. Juan Cole provides details of the circumstances that caused parliamentarians to delay the vote yesterday. According to Cole, the Sadrist Movement is concerned that the temporary candidates Maliki put forward as place holders yesterday would mean that “the ministers of the security ministries would in the end be the opposite of those already agreed upon,” while members of Iraqiyya were unable to agree on a candidate to put forward for Minister of Defense.

Update: Reidar Visser remains skeptical of the new government, calling it “XXL-sized and unwieldy.” However, he does credit P.M. Maliki for handling the situation “quite masterfully,” by “creat(ing) an end game where many from the other parties were forced to abandon their principles.”


Posted in Iraq, Political Parties | Comment »

Iraq: Government Formation Delayed, Sadrists Make Gains

December 20th, 2010 by Jason

After initial reports that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki would announce his cabinet today, speaker of the parliament Osama al-Nujaifi told reporters that the parliament would not meet to discuss cabinet appointments. There have also been reports that the prime minister would announce half of his cabinet posts today, with the rest to be announced later. Maliki has until December 25 to unveil his government which will then be subject to parliamentary approval. An editorial in Saturday’s The Wall Street Journal  warned that “the deal could fall apart,” while an editorial in today’s The Daily Star argues “if Iraq’s lawmakers cannot take into account the needs of their populace - irrespective of race or creed - regression will surely follow.”

Meanwhile, Jack Healy writes in The New York Times that the Sadrist Movement, led by Muqtada al-Sadr, is “tracing a path mapped out by militant groups like Hezbollah or Hamas, which built popular support by augmenting their armed wings with social and political groups that ran schools and hospitals and handed out jobs.” Healy also reports that the group is vying for the governorship of Maysan province.

Update: P.M. Maliki appeared with Speaker Nujaifi  at a press conference Monday evening in Baghdad to announce his list of cabinet officials according to the Associated Press. However, “nearly one-third of the nominees were only acting ministers, an attempt to buy time to work out disagreements with a key part of al-Maliki’s coalition — the hardline Shiite faction loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.”


Posted in Iraq, Islamist movements, Political Parties, Sectarianism | Comment »

Egypt: Opposition Woes

December 16th, 2010 by Jason

In a letter written shortly after the parliamentary elections, Issandr El Amrani analyzes how the outcome will effect Egypt’s opposition, saying that the Muslim Brotherhood was “reeling,” the Wafd Party may be preparing to “fold back and regroup, preparing for the post-Hosni moment,” and Taggamu is in the middle of a “leadership crisis.” Opposition groups “have little choice but to retreat and wait out succession, and work on their grassroots.” Amrani argues in the letter that the possibility of an opposition “grand coalition” is unlikely due to a lack of leadership. He does say that members of the opposition that advocated for a boycott were “vindicated” by the results, and that this might increase the influence of Mohamed ElBaradei, especially if ElBaradei “show[s] a greater willingness to lead the opposition.”


Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Parties | Comment »

Iraq: Allawi to Join Government

December 15th, 2010 by Jason

Steven Lee Myers reports that Ayad Allawi has agreed to join the government of Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki. “Mr. Allawi did so grudgingly and with conditions, warning that an agreement brokered by the United States to form a broad power-sharing coalition government under Mr. Maliki’s leadership could still unravel.” Meanwhile, Reidar Visser excoriated the U.S. for over-stating the political progress in Iraq at recent meeting of the United Nations Security Council. “They do not even seem to notice that the Iraqi parliament has yet to address the legal framework for the supposed cornerstone of the power-sharing ‘deal’, the national council for high policies, without which the whole ‘agreement’ is basically a spin-doctor masquerade.”


Posted in Iraq, Political Parties, Sectarianism, US foreign policy, United Nations | Comment »

Egypt: Trouble Ahead for NDP

December 14th, 2010 by Jason

Michele Dunne and Amr Hamzawy write in a recent article that the parliamentary elections in Egypt “solved” one problem for the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) by ending the Muslim Brotherhood presence in parliament, but created “a host” of other issues. Dunne and Hamzawy argue that the “three components of legitimacy—voter turnout, a fair electoral process, and balanced representation in the legislative branch combined with its relative autonomy from the executive branch,” have effectively ceased to exist, bringing Egyptian politics to a “new low.” The authors foresee two other problems for the NDP: Legal challenges to the new parliament, which have already begun, and the “political cause for concern” of how the NDP will handle the upcoming presidential race in 2011. “The last thing the NDP wants is real opposition competition for the presidency, but the second-to-last thing it wants is the appearance of no competition at all.”


Posted in Egypt, Elections, Judiciary, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Parties | Comment »

Lebanon: Stability “Trumps” Justice

December 13th, 2010 by Jason

Roger Cohen, writing in The New York Times, describes Lebanon as a “gravity-defying…country with two armies, a ‘unity’ government too divided to meet, a wild real estate boom and a time bomb called the ‘international tribunal.’” Attitudes in Lebanon about the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) have changed significantly since its inception. This change is embodied by Walid Jumblatt, the leader of the Druze community: “A recent meeting between Jumblatt and Jeffrey Feltman, the U.S. assistant secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, did not go smoothly. ‘He told me I’m a national leader and should back the tribunal,’ Jumblatt said. ‘I said, no, I prefer to be a tribal leader, I’m downgrading! And I asked what the use of tribunal justice is if it leads to slaughter? It’s better to drop justice for stability.’” Jumblatt’s notion of stability over justice is echoed by Cohen. “Lebanese stability is precious and tenuous: It trumps justice delayed, flawed and foreign.”



Posted in Hezbollah, Lebanon, Political Parties, Sectarianism, US foreign policy | Comment »

Egypt: Opposition to Form Shadow Parliament, Former MPs Rally

December 13th, 2010 by Jason

Former members of parliament plan to create a “shadow parliament” to protest the recent parliamentary elections. The group includes members of Wafd Party, the Muslim Brotherhood, and independents. Former MP’s also rallied Monday in front of the State Council Court in Cairo to support the shadow parliament. “The establishment of this democratic People’s Assembly is an act of popular civil disobedience,” said Hamdeen Sabbahi, a former MP from the Karama Party. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in a speech Sunday that “‘As president of Egypt, I wish the rest of the parties had achieved better results…And I wish they hadn’t wasted their efforts in arguments about boycotting the election and then actually participating in it, and then announcing that they are withdrawing from the election over doubts about its results.’”


Posted in Egypt, Elections, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Parties | Comment »

Yemen: Change in Elections Law Provokes Sit-In

December 13th, 2010 by Jason

The Agence France Presse (AFP) is reporting that Yemen’s Parliament has passed an amendment to the elections law that would change the composition of the high electoral commission by “stipulat[ing] the high electoral commission be composed of judges rather than delegates from parties represented in Parliament as has been the case until now.” The opposition complained that the amendment was passed “unilaterally” by the General People’s Congress (GPC), President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s party. Parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in April 2011. AFP also reported on Saturday that a leader of the supreme council of the Southern Movement was released after being arrested for “‘planning to hold unauthorized protests in a number of southern provinces.’” His arrest sparked several days of protests in which five people were injured. 


Posted in Judiciary, Legislation, Political Parties, Yemen | Comment »

Iraq: Ministerial Positions and the Effect on Representation

December 9th, 2010 by Jason

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports that the “major parliament factions” have agreed on ministerial posts. “Khalid al-Asadi of the Shi’ite National Alliance (NA) parliamentary bloc told RFI on December 8 that the ministry of oil will go to his bloc and the ministry of finance will be given to former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi’s Sunni-backed al Iraqiya bloc, while the Kurds will keep the foreign affairs portfolio.” Reidar Visser addresses the “law on replacement of candidates” and how the assumption of ministerial positions by members of parliament may “further dilute” the idea of “close connections” between the Iraqi people and their representatives.


Posted in Iraq, Political Parties | Comment »

POMED Notes: “Crisis in Lebanon: Sectarian Politics, Regional Dynamics, and the U.N. Special Tribunal”

December 8th, 2010 by Jason

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) held a panel discussion Wednesday titled “Crisis in Lebanon: Sectarian Politics, Regional Dynamics, and the U.N. Special Tribunal.” The speakers were Aram Nerguizian, a scholar with the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Randa Slim, an independent consultant and a board member of the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue and the Project on Middle East Democracy, Andrew J. Tabler, a Next Generation Fellow in the Program on Arab Politics at The Washington Institute, and Mona Yacoubian, head of the Lebanon Working Group at USIP and special adviser to USIP’s Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention.

 (To read full notes, continue below the fold or click here for pdf.)

Read the rest of this entry »


Posted in Civil Society, DC Event Notes, Hezbollah, Israel, Judiciary, Lebanon, Military, Political Parties, Saudi Arabia, Sectarianism, Syria, US foreign policy, United Nations | Comment »

POMED Notes: “The Realities of Power Sharing in the Next Iraqi Government”

December 7th, 2010 by Jason

The Middle East Institute (MEI) held an event on Tuesday titled “The Realities of Power Sharing in the Next Iraqi Government” with Reidar Visser. The event was held to mark the release of Visser’s new book, “A Responsible End?: The United States and the Iraqi Transition, 2005-2010.” Visser was introduced by Kate Seelye, the Vice President of Programs and Communications at MEI.

(To read full notes, continue below the fold or click here for pdf.)

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Posted in Civil Society, DC Event Notes, Elections, Iran, Iraq, Kurds, Political Parties, Sectarianism, US foreign policy | Comment »

Egypt: EASD Counting Statement, Wafd “Pushed” to Run

December 7th, 2010 by Jason

The Egyptian Association for Supporting Democratic Development (EASD) has released a statement reporting incidents observed by its members. The incidents include violence and security forces denying observers access to polling stations. Meanwhile, Ahram Online reports on the Wafd Party’s decision to not participate in the second round of voting. In spite of their boycott, Wafd managed to win 6 seats. Abdallah El-Senawy, editor of the opposition newspaper El-Arabi explains: “‘The NDP needed to prove to the international and the local audience that political pluralism exists in Egypt, through ensuring the presence of some opposition MPs in the parliament.’”


Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Political Parties | Comment »

Iraq: Inclusive Government May Lead to Gridlock

December 6th, 2010 by Jason

Kenneth M. Pollack, writing in The National Interest, argues that the new Iraqi government may be too inclusive: “The Iraqis went for an all-inclusive government because they could not sort out their political divisions. But forming one simply means bringing all of those differences inside the government, where they are likely to prevent it from actually governing.” Pollack goes on to say that “Iraq’s fragmented and immature political systems,” will be prone to gridlock due to the inability of the parliament to act as credible check on the power of the prime minister.

Reidar Visser, in an article supporting the idea that there are difficult times ahead, writes that a ruling by the Iraqi federal supreme court will give the newly elected speaker of the parliament, Usama al-Nujayfi of Iraqiyya, “preeminence” as the speaker, rather than an equal role within a “three-man presidency of the parliament” that has existed since 2006. However, Visser notes that it would be “prudent of them (Iraqiyya) to be aware that their logic of an orthodox reading of the constitution will probably apply with equal force to another institution that is much debated these days: the national council for strategic policies […] which is not even mentioned in the constitution precisely like the ‘[collective] presidency of the parliament’ which Iraqiyya complained about to the supreme court.”


Posted in Civil Society, Iraq, Judiciary, Political Parties, Sectarianism | Comment »

Egypt: Final Results, P.M. Responds to Criticism

December 6th, 2010 by Jason

The final results of Egypt’s parliamentary elections have been announced. From Al Masry Al Youm: “Final parliamentary election results showed that the ruling National Democratic Party won 440 seats out of 508 possible seats.” The leftist Taggamu party won five seats and “Al-Ghad, Al-Gil, Al-Salam and Social Justice won one seat each.” The Wafd Party and the Muslim Brotherhood, both of which boycotted the second round, managed to win six and one seat respectively. Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif defended the elections saying “‘I challenge anyone who claims there was interference by police or any other body in the election […] The criticisms leveled against the elections did not refer to a specific incident that we can focus on.’”


Posted in Egypt, Elections, Political Parties | Comment »

Egypt: Civil Society Groups Monitor Run-Off Election

December 6th, 2010 by Jason

The Egyptian Association for Supporting Democratic Development (EASD) and the Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement (EACPE)–a member of the Independent Coalition for Elections Observation–have released monitoring reports on the second round of voting in Egypt. The run-off, held December 5th, saw many of the same violations and irregularities as the first round of voting. EASD monitors witnessed numerous cases of ballot stuffing, bribery, interference by security forces, and early closing of polling stations. EACPE’s first statement details abuses by security forces and group, or “collective,” voting. Their second statement (pdf) describes the use of thugs in various locations and the third statement (pdf) focuses on instances of vote rigging.

In response to “widespread violations,” the Independent Coalition for Elections Observation released a statement on Monday calling on President Mubarak to “dissolve the new parliament […] amend the law on the exercise of political rights before calling for new parliamentary elections,” and  “establish an investigative body composed of independent actors with acknowledged moral status and respect among the Egyptian society to investigate the proceedings of the parliamentary elections and its preparation.” 


Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Political Parties | Comment »

Iraq: Constitution Stands in Way of Power-Sharing Deal

December 3rd, 2010 by Jason

Reidar Visser writes in Foreign Affairs that the current power-sharing deal in Iraq is “disconcertingly lacking in substance.” Visser details the various machinations that have been put forward to tempt Iraqiya, led by Ayad Allawi, into forming a coalition government with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law and the Kurdish parties. Visser identifies the core of the problem: “public talk of councils, and even signed agreements by the country’s biggest political blocs, cannot override the demands of Iraq’s constitution and laws.” In fact, he says, the “main responsibility for the fragile character of Iraq’s ‘power-sharing deal,’ however, rests with the Obama administration. Washington continues to spend more energy pursuing its own, idiosyncratic exegesis of Iraqi politics than it does engaging with the real world.”


Posted in Iraq, Political Parties, Sectarianism, US foreign policy | Comment »

POMED Notes: “Unfinished Business: An American Strategy for Iraq Moving Forward”

December 2nd, 2010 by Jason

The Brookings Institution held an event on Thursday to mark the release of the analysis paper “Unfinished Business: An American Strategy for Iraq Moving Forward.” The event’s participants were all co-authors of the paper and included Kenneth M. Pollack, director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, J. Scott Carpenter, the Keston Family Fellow at the Washington Institute and director of Project Fikra, and Sean Kane, a program officer with the United States Institute of Peace’s Iraq Programs.

 (To read full notes, continue below the fold or click here for pdf.)

Read the rest of this entry »


Posted in DC Event Notes, Elections, Foreign Aid, Iraq, Kurds, Military, Political Parties, Reform, Sectarianism, US foreign policy | Comment »

Egypt: What Next for ElBaradei?

December 2nd, 2010 by Evan

The Foundation for Defense of Democracy’s Khairi Abaza has a new piece in The National Interest arguing that the Muslim Brotherhood’s and Wafd Party’s participation in the election was a blow to Mohamed ElBaradei’s credibility as an opposition leader. “By inducing both the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and the liberal Wafd Party not to boycott the elections, the Egyptian regime skillfully maneuvered ElBaradei onto the sidelines. The regime might have promised opposition parties some seats in parliament if they participated, and it likely threatened those that ignored its wishes with unpleasant reprisals—a delicate mixture of suasion and coercion,” Abaza writes. As frustration with the outcome of the election grows, there is still a chance that ElBaradei may be able to channel popular discontent into a potential presidential bid next year. “The real test for both ElBaradei and the regime is the Egyptian people. […] If Mr. ElBaradei can still lay claim to those disenfranchised masses, perhaps he’ll make a dent after all, and his candidacy may yet force the regime to loosen the reins.”


Posted in Egypt, Elections, Political Parties | Comment »