The Wire

Since the release of the January election results, the traditional political structure of Iraq has been turned on its head. After more than 50 years of being the majority in numbers but the underdog in power, the Shia population of Iraq were delivered almost 50 percent of the vote. Just falling short of holding the parliament, the Shias will need to share power with the Kurds – of Northern Iraq. The Kurds have gained much autonomy since the fall of Saddam and control one of the most oil-rich regions of the country, which they may not want to give up. Power-brokers under Saddam and the second largest ethnic group in Iraq, the Sunnis, boycotted the election to protest the continuing occupation of the country by US forces. The Sunni boycott, and the desire of the Kurds to retain some of their hard-earned self-governance, raise some difficult questions about how to include everyone in Iraq’s political process. Professor Ahmed Shboul, Chair of the Deptment of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Sydney, spoke with Ed Giles about the aftermath of the elections. Ed Giles also spoke with Abbas Khadhim, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of California.