Maliki's coalition blurs Iraq's sectarian lines

BAGHDAD - The reelection strategy for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki took shape yesterday as he unveiled a broad alliance for January's parliamentary voting that includes prominent Sunni Muslim clans who had turned against fellow Sunni insurgents.

Maliki's Shiite Muslim-led government is facing a challenge from a powerful bloc of religion-based Shiite factions, including the largest Shiite political group and anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Maliki rejected that coalition and put together his rival movement, which emphasizes secular policies and reconciliation with Sunnis after years of sectarian bloodshed.

The prime minister's allies had strong showings in provincial elections earlier this year. He hopes voter distaste for the Shiite religious factions will remain strong enough to keep his pro-Western government in power.

Maliki's bloc could still join the larger Shiite slate, but political observers said that was unlikely because he reportedly wants the lion's share of seats in the postelection parliament for his alliance.

Maliki's government has come under pressure to maintain security gains as U.S. forces prepare for the end of combat missions next year.

Overall, violence has been steadily declining, but attacks still flare. In August, nearly 100 people died in twin suicide bombings in Baghdad, and last week 18 people were killed in attacks around Iraq in a single day.

Maliki's Shiite-led coalition for the Jan. 16 vote brings in Sunni parties and clans from around the country, including some members of the Abu Risha tribe.

The tribe, in Anbar province in the country's west, led the Sunni uprising against al-Qaeda in Iraq in one of the turning points of the war. Other notable Sunnis joining Maliki include members of the powerful Dulaimi clan.

Also on board are top aides and several key members of his current government, including Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani and government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh.

Maliki's bloc of 40 parties and movements - known as the State of Law list - is rounded out by some Kurdish and Christian groups from Iraq's north.

A victory by Maliki's coalition could mean a more diverse cabinet and a greater political voice from Sunnis, who enjoyed unchallenged control under Saddam Hussein but were swept aside by the majority Shiites after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Maliki, once seen as a Shiite partisan, said it was time for Iraqis to put aside ethnic and sectarian differences to "bear the responsibilities of the coming years, which need more efforts and sacrifices."

"Maliki has changed," Haider al-Musawi, a Shiite political analyst in Baghdad, told McClatchy Newspapers. "The change is a result of the failure of the Islamist parties, and [he's] bending to the people's increasing demands for the return of secular rule."

The election will offer two distinct poles of Shiite power - Maliki's list and a bloc led by the Iran-backed Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, which is Iraq's largest Shiite political force.

The Supreme Council, however, is now led by a new hand, Ammar al-Hakim, who took over after his influential father died in August and is struggling to keep the group from splintering.

The council has forged election bonds with Sadr, who has sway over members of his once-formidable Mahdi Army militia.