April 1 (Bloomberg) — Iraq’s former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, whose party won the most seats in last month’s election, said Iranian efforts to exclude him from power risk causing a “serious backlash” that could rekindle violence.
“As they try to confiscate the will of the Iraqi people and change the will of the Iraqi people, then this will have a serious backlash and a serious repercussion on the overall situation of security in Iraq,” Allawi told CNN in an interview late yesterday, according to a transcript released today.
llawi’s Iraqiya bloc, running on a secular platform, won two seats more than its main rival, Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki’s Shiite Muslim State of Law group, in March 7 parliamentary elections, and is seeking to attract allies to form a coalition government.
Allawi two days ago accused Iran, ruled by Shiite clerics, of trying to block him from becoming prime minister by inviting Shiite and Kurdish parties including al-Maliki’s State of Law to Tehran to get them to agree on a coalition.
U.S. ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill said on March 30 that the Iraqi people would “not stand for a government that is not homemade.” He said the U.S. did not have a “favorite” candidate in the election.
Iran is backing efforts by al-Maliki to form a coalition with another Shiite group, the Iraqi National Alliance, which came in third with 70 seats, and an alliance of Kurdish parties that were fourth with 43 seats, said Mustafa Alani, an analyst from the Dubai-based Gulf Research Centre.
The U.S. prefers Allawi because he is a secular nationalist who would resist Iranian influence, Alani said.
Sunni Support
Iraq’s minority Sunnis, who dominated the country under ousted president Saddam Hussein and formed the backbone of an insurgency after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, mostly voted for Allawi’s Iraqiya.
Clashes between Sunnis and Shiites degenerated into full- scale sectarian warfare after 2005. The security situation has improved since 2007, encouraging U.S. President Barack Obama to plan the withdrawal of about half of the 96,000 U.S. troops currently in Iraq by the end of August. The remaining U.S. forces will leave in 2011.
“I think America needs to stick to the date that it has set to the withdrawal,” said Allawi. “But in the interim, there should be a real effort to beef up the institutions in Iraq and restructure them.”
Al-Maliki yesterday brushed aside Allawi’s claims that Iran was trying to keep him out of power and said a new government shouldn’t be formed in a rush.
Disqualification
A vetting committee on March 29 sought to disqualify six winning candidates because of alleged ties to the outlawed Baath Party of Saddam Hussein. Four of the six are from Allawi’s bloc, the Associated Press reported, citing a committee member.
Allawi’s bloc won 91 seats to the 89 secured by al-Maliki’s alliance. Losing that two-seat lead may deprive Allawi of the chance of seeking to form a government.
Al-Maliki earlier this week criticized the United Nations for not backing his demand for a nationwide recount. The call was rejected by election officials, and the UN envoy to Iraq, Ad Melkert, described the ballot as fair.
