Governorate or provincial elections were held in Iraq on 31 January 2009, to replace the local councils in fourteen of the eighteen governorates of Iraq that were elected in the 2005 Iraqi governorate elections. 14,431 candidates, including 3,912 women, contested 440 seats. The candidates came from over 400 parties, 75% of which were newly formed.From bullets to ballot box – Iraq's violence-free election, The Scotsman, 2009-01-22
Legal framework
In February 2008, the Iraqi Parliament passed a Provincial Powers Act by a majority of one, with many members of parliament not present at the proceedings. It included giving the Prime Minister the power to dismiss a governor of a province, a measure that would have left considerable power in the hands of the Shi'a dominated central government in Baghdad. The Act required a Provincial Elections Law to be passed within the next 90 days and for elections to be held no later than the beginning of October 2008.
The Presidency Council initially referred the law back, saying it did not comply with the constitutional rights of governorates. It was reported that vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi, whose Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council party is strong in many southern Iraqi governorate councils, particularly objected.Iraqi local election law rejected, BBC News, 2008-02-27, accessed on 2008-07-27Sadr anger over Iraq law setback, BBC News, 2008-02-28, accessed on 2008-07-27 However, the Council reversed its position following protests from the Sadrist Movement, saying they would instead seek changes to the law before it came into force.Iraqi Council Ends Objection to Election Law, The New York Times, 2008-03-20, accessed on 2008-03-23
In July 2008 the Iraqi Election Commission proposed postponing the elections until December because delays in passing the election law had left too little time to prepare.Iraq election panel proposes delay in holding provincial voting, International Herald Tribune, 2008-07-20, accessed on 2008-07-20
The Provincial Elections bill was eventually approved by the Council of Representatives on 22 July 2008 despite a walkout by members of the Kurdistani Alliance over a clause making Kirkuk Governorate council a power-sharing arrangement.Iraq elections law passes, but vote date in doubt, CNN, 2008-07-22, accessed on 2008-07-22 The next day the Presidency Council of Iraq, consisting of President Jalal Talabani, who is Kurdish, Vice-President Adel Abdul Mahdi, a Shi'ite Arab, and Vice-President Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni Arab, unanimously agreed to reject the bill because of the Kirkuk clause, and send it back to the Council of Representatives to reconsider.Iraq's presidency council vetoes provincial election bill, People's Daily, 2008-07-24, accessed on 2008-07-27SIIC head, Badr Organization discuss elections law, Aswat al-iraq, 2008-07-28, accessed on 2007-07-28
The second draft was ratified by the Presidency Council on 7 October 2008, who stated that a minority clause may be added later. A minority clause was added on 3 November.
Kirkuk Governorate
The original draft proposed delaying the election in Kirkuk Governorate until after the referendum to decide its precise status has been held. However, a group of Turkmen and Arab MPs proposed a power-sharing clause, establishing a provincial council consisting of ten Kurds, ten Arabs, ten Turkmens and two Assyrians. This clause was included in the draft election bill put to the Iraqi Council of Representatives in July 2008, and led to the Kurdish parties walking out in protest, complaining "If you already pick the seats before the election, why vote?"Kurds Protest Iraqi Election Law, The New York Times, 2008-07-16, accessed on 2008-07-20 The law was nonetheless approved on 22 July 2008. However, President Jalal Talabani, who is Kurdish, and Vice-President Adel Abdul Mahdi, a Shi'ite Arab, have agreed they would reject the bill, and hence it would be sent back to the Council of Representatives to reconsider.
Parliamentary summer recess started on 30 July 2008, but a special session was called for 3 August 2008 to find a solution to the Kirkuk issue.Iraqi Parliament calls session on Kirkuk – International Herald Tribune At that meeting, no solution was reached; at another meeting on 4 August 2008, lawmakers postponed the session to 5 August 2008,AFP: Iraqi parliament delays meeting on key voting law Iraqis see compromise on Kirkuk standoff – International Herald Tribune and on that date to 6 August 2008.Parliament session on election law adjourned as dispute continues over Kirkuk_English_Xinhua It was then postponed to 9 September 2008, with a committee working on a compromise solution until then.Iraqi Parliament fails to agree on elections law, International herald Tribune, 2008-08-06, accessed on 2008-08-06 At that session, no resolution was reached, and negotiations continued on 10 September 2008 in the form of a special six-member panel formed for this occasion. The law was finally passed on 24 September 2008 and the election is expected to be held by 31 January 2009; the compromise was that Kirkuk would be dealt with separately, and elections in Kirkuk and the three Kurdish autonomous provinces will be held at a later time. A special panel was to work on a solution on Kirkuk and report back by 31 March 2009.
The United Nations Special Representative for Iraq, Staffan de Mistura proposed holding elections in all governorates except Kirkuk, and deferring the Kirkuk elections for six months in order to find an acceptable compromise.Iraqi parliament again puts off election vote, Reuters, 2008-08-05, accessed on 2008-08-05 A draft bill based on this proposal was debated on 6 August and accepted by the Kurdistani Alliance but opposed by the Iraqi Turkmen Front, Iraqi Accord Front and Sadrist Movement who objected to the draft law's reference to the Kirkuk status referendum and insisted on delaying the entire elections until a solution was found.Iraq MPs still at odds over provincial elections law , Middle East Times, 2008-08-06, accessed on 2008-08-06
Minorities
Under Article 50 of the draft Elections law, religious minorities such as Christians and Yazidis would be reserved a number of seats in the provincial assemblies. This clause was removed in the final draft, with legislators citing a lack of census data for determining the appropriate number of seats. Five thousand Christians demonstrated in Mosul against this change, saying it was a "marginalisation of their rights" and the head of the Assyrian Church of the East wrote to the Presidency Council asking them to veto the law.Thousands of Iraqi Christians protest country's new provincial law , Monsters and critics, 2008-09-28Christians call for representation in Iraq , Middle East Times, 2008-09-30
Prime Minister al-Maliki said he was concerned and called on parliament and the Iraqi High Electoral Commission to "remove all the concerns, injustice and the sense of exclusion felt by some segments of Iraqi society".Al-Maliki backs legislative seats for religious minorities in Iraq, Associated Press, 2008-09-29 Kurdish MP Mahmoud Othman called on the Presidency Council of Iraq to use its review process to force an amendment to include a minority quota, saying "The rule of the majority means there should be protection of the minorities"Iraq election law marks progress, opens political season, The Christian Science Monitor, 2008-09-26 A Sadrist leader also said Christians should be allowed to "contribute to the building of the Iraqi state" and the removal of this clause "threatened the unity of Iraq"Sadrist leader: Iraq's unity threatened by lack of minority quota , Monsters and Critics, 2008-09-30 The UN Special Envoy also criticised the removal of the minorities clause.
A minority clause was added on 3 November 2008, although it only provided for six special seats (three for Christians, one each for Yazidi, Mandean and Shabak) instead of twelve as recommended by the UN. The Christians got a seat each in Baghdad, Nineveh, and Basra, the Yazidi and Shabak in Nineveh, and the Mandeans in Baghdad.Iraqi parliament approves amendment for provincial election law, Xinhua, 2008-11-03
Female quota
Original drafts of the Election law included a guarantee that the elected councils would contain at least 25% women. However, the law passed stated instead that there would be "a woman at the end of every three winners". The Electoral Commission has interpreted this to mean that where a list wins more than two seats in a particular governorate, the third seat will be awarded to a woman on the party's list. Given the large number of parties contesting the election, many of whom are expected to win one or two seats, female MPs raised concerns that the change in language has weakened this provision.Changes in Iraq Election Law Weaken Quota for Women, The New York Times, 2009-01-13
Electoral system
The previous Governorate and national elections in Iraq have been held under a "Closed list" electoral system, whereby voters select a party or coalition and the party or coalition selects the individual parliamentarian.
The new election will be held under an "Open list" system, whereby voters may select either a party or an individual candidate; the candidates elected from a list will be those that get the most individual votes from among that list.
The system also promotes the representation of women, for if the top two people elected from a list are men, the subsequent person elected will be the woman with the most votes.not so open, abu muqawama, 2008-09-25
Militias In March, the government of Nouri al-Maliki moved against militias allied to the Sadrist Movement in Basrah Governorate. Sadrists accused Maliki of trying to weaken them ahead of the polls, but Maliki claimed he was just targeting "criminal gangs".
Following this, Maliki said he would disqualify any parties from the election who refused to disband their militia. In April the cabinet agreed on a draft elections law, which included a clause banning parties with militias.Iraqi cabinet seeks to ban militias from elections, Reuters, 2008-04-13, accessed on 2008-04-14 The Sadr Movement however, still ran in the elections.
Campaign
The security situation in this election was much better than in previous elections. Security was provided by the Iraqi security forces with the Multinational force in Iraq playing no role for the first time. Candidates felt safe enough to canvass for votes, while the 2005 elections saw little public campaigning. Nonetheless, eight candidates were killed during the campaign, borders were closed for voting and curfews and vehicle bans were put in place.Poll candidates killed in Iraq , Al Jazeera, 2009-01-30 However, this compared favourably to the 2005 elections when over 200 candidates were killed.
Early voting took place on Wednesday 28 January for 614,000 soldiers, police, prisoners, patients and internally displaced people.
Sunni Arab areas The current Governorate councils were elected in the 2005 Iraqi governorate elections, which were boycotted by Sunni Arabs, resulting in several Sunni Arab-majority provinces such as Nineveh Governorate and Saladin Governorate being run either ethnic Kurdish parties, or multi-ethnic parties of Shia faith. As Sunni Arab parties have since decided to participate in elections, these elections are expected to give them more representation.