Iraq Election Update from Omar

Omar at Iraq the Model has an interesting roundup of political activity throughout Iraq in the runup to the coming elections. He identifies the major political slates and what they stand for, and he identifies the major problems in each of the nation's three regions. In the Kurdish north, voters are facing a problem familiar to Americans -- the lack of attractive candidates. Unwilling to vote for non-Kurds, but unimpressed by the candidates for office, many are threatening to simply sit out the election. In the Sunni areas of the west:

The Sunni powers aren’t united among themselves, some are eager to be part of the evolving democracy while others are still making high demands in return for their participation or for dropping their weapons.

And in the Shiite south local militias are a major problem. Many have insinuated themselves into local authority structures and are seeking to control the vote. This could be a big problem in the future. What is also interesting is that many clerics in both the Shia and Sunni areas are not endorsing specific candidates. The fears that Iraq would become a theocracy seem to have been unfounded.

Parenthetically, I wonder to what extent the militia problem in the south is due to cultural peculiarities or alternatively to the leniency of British policy in those areas. Brits famously established good relations with the locals, but often that meant allowing militias to take control. That will be something to be sorted out in the future.

Still, with all the worries, things seem to be proceeding well. Read the whole thing here.