2009 Baghdad governorate election

2009 Baghdad Governorate election

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All 57 seats for the Baghdad Governorate council
First party Second party   Leader Nouri al-Maliki Ayad al-Samarrai Party State of Law Tawafuq Last election 11 0 Seats before 11 0 Seats won 28 7 Seat change 17 7 Popular vote 641,925 153,219 Percentage 37.9% 9% Swing 22.8% 9%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Muqtada al-Sadr Ayad Allawi Party Sadrist Movement INL Last election 1 0 Seats before 1 0 Seats won 5 5 Seat change 4 5 Popular vote 151,093 148,133 Percentage 8.9% 8.7% Swing 6.9% 8.7%
Governor of Baghdad before election Hussein al-Tahan ISCI Subsequent Governor Salah Abd al-Razzaq State of Law

The Baghdad governorate election of 2009 was held on 31 January 2009 alongside elections for all other governorates outside Iraqi Kurdistan and Kirkuk.

Background

Two seats in Baghdad are reserved for minority religions: one for Christians and one for Sabians. ^[1] Over 3,000 candidates contested the 57 seats. ^[2]

Campaign

A candidate for the Iraqi Islamic Party was killed outside his home in the al-Ameriya district. ^[3]

Results

Sunni Arab residents of the Fadel district complained that they felt it was dangerous registering to vote because the office was in a neighbouring area that was Shiite dominated and they had to pass through two checkpoints. Many voters in that district were reported to have been turned away as they were not registered and turnout was less than 30%. ^[4]

The Iraqi National List of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi was said to have won most support in Fadel along with the Iraqi Communist Party. A local Sahwa official and former 1920 Revolution Brigade member said he knew former al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters who had voted for the INL. ^[4]

In March, the State of Law Coalition said it would ally with the Iraqi National Dialogue Front. ^[5]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	State of Law Coalition	641,925	37.87	28	+17
	Tawafuq	153,219	9.04	7	+7
	Sadrist Movement	151,093	8.91	5	+4
	Iraqi National List	148,133	8.74	5	+5
	Hiwar	113,787	6.71	4	+4
	Al Mihrab Martyr List	91,759	5.41	3	−25
	National Reform Trend	71,663	4.23	3	+3
	Islamic Virtue Party	22,921	1.35	0	−6
	Ishtar Patriotic List	4,334	0.26	1	+1
	Reserved Sabian seat	241	0.01	1	+1
	Other parties	295,855	17.46	0	–
Total		1,694,930	100.00	57	+6
Source: Niqash, [6] IHEC

See also

• Assyrian politics in Iraq#Iraqi Governorate Elections 2009

References

1. Iraqi parliament approves amendment for provincial election law, Xinhua , 3 November 2008
2. From bullets to ballot box – Iraq's violence-free election, The Scotsman , 22 January 2009
3. Poll candidates killed in Iraq , Al Jazeera , 30 January 2009
4. In Baghdad district, secular lists take the votes, Agence France-Presse via AAJ TV , 1 February 2009
5. New Alliances In Iraq Cross Sectarian Lines, The Washington Post , 20 March 2009
6. final election results, Niqash , 2009-02-25