Key political players in Iraq’s parliamentary elections

Key players in Iraq’s parliamentary elections

A look at the key political players in Iraq’s March 7 parliamentary elections:

Nouri al-Maliki — The prime minister is seeking a second, four-year term in office, contesting this election at the head of his State of Law Coalition. Al-Maliki took office in May 2006 after winning the premiership as a compromise candidate put forward by Shiite parties. He has since asserted his authority and overseen the dramatic drop in violence that followed a 2007 U.S. troop buildup. Al-Maliki has been harshly criticized for shutting out his government partners from the decision-making process on key issues, depending instead on a small clique of aides from his Dawa Party.

Jalal Talabani: The senior and longtime leader of Iraq’s Kurdish minority is serving a second term as president. He founded the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in 1975, one of the two main Kurdish parties that fought Saddam Hussein. Talabani has built a “father of the nation” reputation over the past four years, steering a neutral course when dealing with a host of complex and divisive issues. He is reported to be seeking another presidential term, but the PUK is being challenged by an upstart Kurdish party called Change that may upset the Kurdish balance of power.

Adel Abdul-Mahdi: The Shiite vice president is a French-trained economist who has been a prime minister-in waiting since 2005. Abdul-Mahdi, a stalwart of the Iranian-backed Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council party, twice came close to becoming prime minister but missed out in both cases to candidates from the Dawa Party. Abdul-Mahdi’s reputation was somewhat hurt last year when army officers seconded to his security detail were found to be involved in a deadly bank robbery. Abdul-Mahdi may get another shot at the prime minister’s job if the Supreme Council wins the largest number of seats inside the Iraqi National Alliance.

Tariq al-Hashemi: The Sunni vice president, who is the grandson of an Ottoman-era general, has been among the harshest critics of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. A Sunni, al-Hashemi has quit the Iraqi Islamic Party that he once led and is now running for parliament in a secular coalition led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a Shiite. He is arguably the most powerful Sunni Arab politician in Iraq today.

Muqtada al-Sadr: The fiery, anti-American cleric is not running in the election but has endorsed the vote, calling it a means of “political resistance.” In the past, al-Sadr, who is thought to be living in Iran, denounced elections as a sham because they were held under American “occupation.” Al-Sadr’s politics are radical and populist. His opposition to any U.S. role in Iraq has been uncompromising. But it’s his close ties to Iran now that could undermine his standing as a man who once wooed supporters with his pan-Arab rhetoric.

Ayad Allawi: The former prime minister is the face of secular politics in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. A Shiite, Allawi has carved a niche for himself in today’s Iraq as the answer to urban and educated Iraqis, both Sunnis and Shiites, who are dismayed by the religious parties and the close ties they maintain with the country’s cleric-ruled neighbor, Iran. A physician by training, Allawi was a member of Iraq’s outlawed Baath Party until the 1970s.

Ibrahim al-Jaafari: A former prime minister, al-Jaafari is running in a mostly Shiite coalition led by the Iranian-backed Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council and followers of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. He is widely believed to have a chance at becoming prime minister if his allies, the Sadrists, emerge from the vote as the party with a larger number of seats than any other group in the coalition.

Ahmad Chalabi: A one-time Pentagon favorite and insider, Chalabi is running in the same coalition led by the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council and the Sadrists. He failed to win a seat in the last parliamentary election in 2005, but is virtually assured of one this time around. Chalabi’s relations with the United States soured when the intelligence he provided the Americans on Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction proved faulty. The U.S. also accused him in 2004 of spying for Iran. Chalabi is a secular Shiite who is loathed by the country’s Sunni Arab minority for the zeal he has shown in rooting out Saddam’s loyalists from jobs in the government, armed forces and security agencies.