All Of Iraq’s New Provincial Councils Named

It took over two months, but Iraq finally has named all fourteen of its new provincial councils. Muthanna was the last one to take this step, voting on governor, head of council, and deputies on April 30, 2009. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law List, won in nine of fourteen provinces. His List was able to put together ruling coalitions in eight of those, plus Karbala. State of Law won majorities in Baghdad and Basra, so no alliances were necessary there. In Babil, Dhi Qar, Karbala, and Qadisiyah State of Law found new allies in nationalist, independent, and local parties the Sadrists, the Iraqi National List of former Prime Minister Ilyad Allawi, the National Reform Movement of ex-Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the Hope of Rafidain, the Civil Society List, and independent Youssef al-Habboubi. In Maysan, Najaf and Wasit however, State of Law joined with the Supreme Council’s Al Mihrab Martyr List. The SIIC was also able to out maneuver Maliki’s List and take control of Muthanna. In Anbar, the Awakening List of Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha along with parliamentarian Saleh al-Mutlaq’s Iraqi National Project won, while the old bloc of the Iraqi Accordance Front, the Kurdish Alliance and the Supreme Council are the new rulers in Diyala. The Iraqi Accordance Front also gained control of Salahaddin, while the al-Hadbaa party in Ninewa was the only new list to emerge victorious from the balloting. Overall, a mix of old and new coalitions runs the new provincial councils, but the large established parties predominate.

Four provinces have still not held elections, and no dates have been set for them. The election law postponed voting in Tamim until a special committee was to come up with suggestions on how to conduct them there. They were supposed to have finished their work by March 31, but that deadline passed and there are no reports that they are close to completing their task. The three provinces of Kurdistan, Dohuk, Irbil, and Sulaymaniya, have also not had any voting. The Kurdistan Regional Government claimed that it was up to them to set a date for balloting there. Now they are saying they need to elect a new Kurdish parliament before they can have provincial elections. A specific time for those has not been announced yet, but they are expected sometime in mid-July 2009.

Winners By Seats In Provinces:
State of Law – Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki – Babil, Baghdad, Basra, Dhi Qar, tied for 1st Maysan, Muthanna, Najaf, Qadisiyah, Wasit
Al-Mihrab Martyr – Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council – Tied for 1st Maysan, Muthanna, Najaf
Iraqi Accordance Front – Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi – Diyala, tied for 1st Salahaddin
Awakening of Iraq and Independents – Sheikh Abu Risha – Anbar
Al-Hadbaa – Ninewa
Iraqi National List – Former Prime Minister Ilyad Allawi – Tied for 1st Salahaddin
Youssef Majid al-Habboubi – Independent – Karbala

Major Players In Ruling Coalitions By Province:
State of Law – Babil, Baghdad, Basra, Dhi Qar, Qadisiyah, Wasit
State of Law and Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council – Maysan, Najaf
State of Law and Hope of Rafidain – Karbala
Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council - Muthanna
Iraqi Accordance Front – Diyala, Salahaddin
Awakening of Iraq and Independents – Anbar
Al-Hadbaa - Ninewa

Note: Not all the members of the ruling coalitions are known. What are listed are those that have been reported so far.

Anbar – 29 seats
Governor Qaseem Muhammad – Independent/Awakening of Iraq and Independents
Head of Council Jassem Mohammed Hamad – Iraqi National Project
Ruling Coalition
Awakening of Iraq and Independents – 8 seats
Iraqi National Project – 6 seats
4 other unnamed parties

Babil – 30 seats
Governor Salman Hassan al-Zarkani - Independent Trend of the Noble Ones
1st Deputy Governor Iskander Wattout – Civil Society List
2nd Deputy Governor Sadeq al-Mhanna – National Reform Party
Head of Council - ? - Independent Trend of the Noble Ones
Ruling Coalition
State of Law – 8 seats
Civil Society List – 3 seats
Independent Trend of the Noble Ones (Sadrists) – 3 seats
Iraqi National List – 3 seats
National Reform Party – 3 seats

Baghdad – 57 seats
Governor Salah Abd al-Razzaq – State of Law
2nd Deputy Governor Kamil Saeed al-Saeedi – State of Law
Head of Council Kamil al-Zaydi – State of Law
Deputy Head of Council Thamir Riyad al-Addad – State of Law
Ruling Coalition
State of Law – 28 seats

Basra – 35 seats
Governor Shitagh Abbud – State of Law
Head of Council Jabbar Amin – State of Law
Ruling Coalition
State of Law – 20 seats

Dhi Qar – 31 seats
Governor Taleb Kazem Abdulkarim al-Hassan – State of Law
Deputy Governor Hassa Layoos - ?
2nd Deputy Governor Haydar Bunyan - ?
Head of Council Qusai al-Ibadi - National Reform Movement
Deputy Head of Council Abdulhadi Mohan – State of Law
Ruling Coalition
State of Law - 13 seats
Independent Trend of the Noble Ones (Sadrists) - 7 seats
National Reform Movement - 4 seats

Diyala – 29 seats
Governor Abdulnasir al-Muntasirbillah – Iraqi Accordance Front
Deputy Governor – Furat Mohammed – Diyala Coalition
Head of Council Taleb Mohammed Hassan – Kurdish Alliance
Ruling Coalition
Iraqi Accordance Front – 9 seats
Kurdish Alliance – 6 seats
Diyala Coalition (SIIC) – 2 seats

Karbala – 27 seats
Governor Amaleddin Majeed Hameed Kadhem – State of Law
1st Deputy Governor Abbas al-Musawi – Hope of Rafidain
2nd Deputy Governor Youssefl al-Habboubi – Independent
Head of Council Amal al-Rafidayn – Hope of Rafidain
Ruling Coalition
State of Law – 9 seats
Hope of Rafidain – 9 seats
Youssef al-Habboubi – 1 seat

Maysan – 27 seats
Governor Muhammad al-Sudani – State of Law
Head of Council ? – Al-Mihrab Martyr List
Ruling Coalition
State of Law – 8 seats
Al-Mihrab Martyr List (SIIC) – 8 seats

Muthanna – 26 seats
Governor Ibrahim Salman al-Mayali – Al-Mihrab Martyr List
Ruling CoalitionAl-Mihrab Martyr List – 5 seats

Najaf – 28 seats
Governor Adnan al-Zurfi – Loyalty to Najaf
Head of Council - ? - State of Law
Ruling Coalition
State of Law - 7 seats
Al Mihrab Martyr List – 7 seats
Loyalty to Najaf - 4 seats

Ninewa – 37 seats
Governor Atheel al-Najafi – Al Hadbaa List
2nd Deputy Governor Hassan Mahmoud Ali – Independent
Head of Council Faisal Abdullah al-Yawir – Al Hadbaa List
Deputy Head of Council Wild-dar Zebari – Al Hadbaa List
Ruling Coalition
Al Hadbaa List – 19 seats
Iraqi Islamic Party – 3 seats

Qadisiyah – 28 seats
Governor Salim Husayn – State of Law
Head of Council - ? - State of Law
Ruling Coalition
State of Law – 11 seats
Iraqi National List – 3 seats

Salahaddin – 28 seats
Governor Mutashar al-Aliwi – Iraqi Accordance Front
Head of Council - ? - Iraqi National List
Ruling Coalition
Iraqi Accordance Front – 5 seats
Iraqi National List - 5 seats

Wasit – 28 seats
Governor Lateef Hamad al-Tarfa - State of Law
Head of Council Mahmoud Abdulrida Talal – Al-Mihrab Martyr List
Ruling Coalition
State of Law – 13 seats
Al-Mihrab Martyr List (SIIC) – 6 seats

SOURCES

Abdullah, Muhammed, “sectarian polarization in diyala,” Niqash, 4/20/09

Alsumaria, "State of Law Coalition wins seats majority," 5/6/09

Aswat al-Iraq, “4 blocs to contest the results of Diala council votes,” 4/12/09
- “Atheel Nejefi elected as Ninewa governor,” 4/12/09
- “Babel council elects independent engineer as governor,” 4/18/09
- “Baghdad’s second deputy governor elected,” 4/20/09
- “KA, IAF agree to share leading posts in Diala,” 2/24/09
- “Karbala governor assumes duty after republican decree issued,” 4/19/09
- “New Baghdad governor elected,” 4/12/09
- “New Diala governor elected,” 4/11/09
- “New governor picked for Anbar,” 4/11/09
- “New provincial council’s head, deputy selected in Thi-Qar,” 4/16/09
- “Presidential decrees to appoint governors of Thi-Qar, Babel,” 4/22/09
- “Wassit governor, provincial council chief elected,” 4/15/09
- “Zaydi unanimously elected to chair Baghdad provincial council,” 4/8/09

Barzanji, Yahya, “New candidate emerges among Iraq’s Kurds,” Associated Press, 5/2/09

Reilly, Corinne and Abbas, Ali, “Kurdish-Arab tensions continue to grow in northern Iraq,” McClatchy Newspapers, 4/14/09

Shadid, Anthony, “New Alliance In Iraq Cross Sectarian Lines,” Washington Post, 3/20/09

Visser, Reidar, “After Compromise on Kirkuk, Finally an Elections Law for Iraq’s Governorates,” Historiae.org, 9/24/08
- “Iraq’s New Provincial Councils: A Mixed Picture North of Baghdad, Unexpected Complications in the Centre and the South,” Historiae.org, 4/13/09
- “Maliki Suffers Setbacks as Samarrai is Confirmed as New Speaker and More Governors Are Elected South of Baghdad,” Historiae.org, 4/19/09
- “Mixed Outcome for Maliki as Muthanna and Najaf Elect New Governors,” Historiae.org, 5/1/09