Iraq's provincial elections were this past Saturday, January 31.The early report from Basra (the southernmost province) is that Nouri al-Maliki's party did surprisingly well, in particular compared to the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq:
(From NYT today: "In Basra voters overwhelmingly chose the slate backed by Prime Minister al-Maliki because he is widely credited for restoring security to a city that was in the grip of Iranian-backed militias until April. Residents also believe that only he may be strong enough to curtail the influence of neighboring Iran ... the most influential party in the south, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, appears to have lost to Mr. Maliki in Basra because many voters feel that it is too close to Iran and that it is working toward a decentralized Iraq, with a largely Shiite nine-province region in the south incorporating Basra.")A new Sunni Arab party (al-Hadba-a) in Nineveh, which ran on a platform of curbing Kurdish expansion, did well (won about 60% of the vote in Nineveh).
13. Was al-Maliki's actual name on the ballot anywhere? Or was it just his party's name?
14. Was there any violence during the voting?
Jane Arraf (from the Christian Science Monitor), on Diane Rehm, said that election day was surprisingly violence-free. However, she also said that turnout was disappointingly low.
15. How closely are Obama/Gates/Clinton communicating with al-Maliki? Is the Administration glad that his party did well in the elections?
This is from the Kuwait News Agency: "PM al-Maliki received a phone call from US President Barack Obama Monday evening and discussed the implementation of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). Obama commended the Iraqi government and security authorities for making the provincial elections a success, reiterated the US commitment to implementing SOFA, and said his government would consult with Baghdad in any steps regarding withdrawal of the American forces from Iraq. Under SOFA, US combat forces will start pulling out from Iraqi cities by June 30 of this year and fully leave the country by December 31, 2011."
16. Was any of the voting there computerized?
17. Which group of Iraqis voted more -- young people or old people?
18. Does Joe Biden still believe in the "3 mini-state" proposal that he put forward in 2006?
19. Is Joe Biden planning to run for President in 2016?
20. Are Obama and Biden having lunch once a week? If so, is anyone else in the room? Are some or all of Obama's conversations recorded?
21. To what extent is George W. Bush following the political news -- in the US, Iraq, or elsewhere -- at the moment? Is he engaged at all?
--------
The three largest cities in Iraq:
- Baghdad (6.5 million)
- Basra
- Mosul
