Excerpts from the “Framework Plan” for governing Iraq’s governorates

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[size=52]Excerpts from the “Framework Plan” for governing Iraq’s governorates[/size]

[size=45]A 10-page document prepared by the “Coordination Framework” revealed the features of the plan of the ruling Shiite coalition in Iraq to distribute positions in local governments, based on the results of the elections held last month in 15 governorates.[/size]
[size=45]Those elections produced “unexpected” results, as observers described, but after the final numbers were announced, it became clear that the “coordination framework” was the biggest winner in all governorates.[/size]
[size=45]The document, excerpts of which were obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, is an analytical study conducted by the coordination framework for the results of 10 governorates, in the center and south of the country.[/size]
[size=45]This study is supposed to be a “preliminary paper” on which the coordination framework will rely to estimate the form of competition in the upcoming parliamentary elections, according to a leader in this coalition.[/size]
[size=45]Informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the study included an analysis of the position of competitors in the elections, especially the promising Shiite forces and opponents from civil parties, which achieved results that “deserve attention” in the last ballot.[/size]
[size=45]Shiite Variables
The sources explained that the study “will help the coordination framework understand the variables in the electoral mood in the Shiite areas,” and will place before them “a number of options for dealing with strong competitors, or those on their way to becoming so.”[/size]
[size=45]The leader in the framework told Asharq Al-Awsat that part of the discussions raised by the study “generated ideas about the possibility of blocking the way for current governors who won the elections in their cities, so that they do not turn into difficult figures at the national level in the upcoming parliamentary elections.”[/size]
[size=45]The coordination framework is sharpening its political power to prevent Basra Governor Asaad Al-Eidani from obtaining a new term as governor of the richest city in Iraq, and insists on taking the position from him, despite winning the highest votes.[/size]
[size=45]Informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the coordination framework awaits a set of legal mechanisms that may ultimately result in “cancelling the votes won by Governor Al-Eidani.”[/size]
[size=45]The coordination framework won about 188 seats in 10 governorates, according to statistics included in the analytical document for this coalition.[/size]
[size=45]The “coordinating framework” forces prevailed in most of the central and southern governorates with a Shiite majority population, but they will compete for secondary positions in the Sunni governorates.[/size]
[size=45]Last month, this coalition decided to negotiate as a single bloc in all governorates to form local governments and ensure an absolute majority to install governors.[/size]
[size=45]The document stated that the recent elections established “the phenomenon of local leadership in three governorates after the announcement of the victory of the conservative lists in Basra with 12 seats, Wasit 7 seats, and Karbala 7 seats.”[/size]
[size=45]Implications of the results:
According to the document, these results “have immediate implications in using their authority for the benefit of their lists, and in the future in determining their size in the House of Representatives elections.”[/size]
[size=45]In the context, the document says, “The Al-Basas list is headed by Mohsen Al-Mandalawi (who is the first deputy speaker of Parliament), who won 5 seats in 10 governorates that were subject to analysis, namely 3 in Baghdad, one seat in Muthanna, and the same in Dhi Qar.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Mandalawi, a Shiite businessman who recently became involved in political life, is seen as one of the players who constitute the new generation of coordinating framework forces.[/size]
[size=45]The study of the “coordination framework” focused on the results achieved by the civil “Qayyim” coalition, and said: “This list has become somewhat real, as it obtained 6 seats distributed among Dhi Qar, Najaf, Babil, and Diwaniyah.”[/size]
[size=45]The number of votes obtained by the “Qayyim” coalition in 10 governorates reached more than 125,000 votes, with a voting rate of 3.6 percent of the total Shiite vote, according to the study.[/size]
[size=45]The dramatic results of the Diwaniyah
. On the other hand, the study of the “coordination framework” analyzed the results achieved by the “Ishraqa Canon” list, which describes itself as independent, and was formed in the wake of the “Tishreen Protest” movement without belonging to it, while political circles say that it is “somewhat connected to the circles.” Religious affairs in Najaf.[/size]
[size=45]According to the framework study, the “Ishraqa Canon” coalition won 5 seats in the last elections in Baghdad, Dhi Qar, Diwaniyah, and Babil.[/size]
[size=45]According to the mood in which the framework document was written, the exceptional results in Diwaniyah, which showed a popular tendency towards independents and civilians, made the framework leaders register question marks about what is happening there, according to the sources.[/size]
[size=45]The study said that the Coordination Framework forces combined received more than 1.8 million votes in 10 cities, constituting about 55 percent of the Shiite voters’ votes.[/size]
[size=45]The framework seats were distributed as follows: 28 seats in Baghdad, 11 in Babylon, 9 in Najaf, 10 in Diwaniyah, 12 in Muthanna, 12 in Maysan, and 13 in Dhi Qar.[/size]
[size=45]The study concluded that the coordination framework “has the flexibility to form governments in 7 governorates, while Basra, Karbala, and Wasit remain the subject of dispute with other competitors.”[/size]
[size=45]On December 20, the coordination framework announced the formation of a “framework bloc” in all governorates, with the mission of forming local governments through the governorate councils.[/size]
[size=45]The leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, has two governors in Najaf and Maysan, but they did not participate in the last vote due to the boycott decision that Al-Sadr announced about two and a half months before the vote.[/size]
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