Posted on 03/27/2010 9:31:54 AM PDT by jazusamo
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi reached out to his rivals to form a governing coalition Saturday, staking his claim as the top vote-getter in Iraq's elections and saying he hoped to build strong relations with neighboring countries.
Allawi's secular Iraqiya bloc edged out chief rival Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki by just two seats in the March 7 vote for a 325-member parliament. The razor-thin victory meant Allawi's road to regaining the premiership is anything but guaranteed, and a lengthy period of political negotiations -- possibly punctuated with violence -- likely lies ahead.
Regardless of the outcome, the final results released Friday were a turning point and served as a rejection of the domination of Shiite religious parties as has been the case since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. In many ways it also was a referendum against the sectarian politics that had pushed the country to the brink of civil war.
The next government will likely be in power when U.S. troops leave Iraq next year. Many in the West have feared the U.S. withdrawal would leave a political void that neighboring Iran would be poised to fill but Allawi's re-emergence could allay some of those concerns. He has much better relations with Iraq's mainly Sunni Arab neighbors than al-Maliki.
Allawi's Iraqiya coalition won 91 seats to 89 for al-Maliki's bloc, riding a wave of support from Sunnis frustrated with the Shiite-dominated government, which they say has incited sectarian tensions and is too closely aligned with neighboring Iran.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
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