IRAQ'S COMPLEX ELECTION

IT has been a slow business counting the votes in the Iraq election, the results of which were released on Friday. But it will be an even slower business converting the votes cast into a viable government.

A coalition is inevitable but its make-up could take months to settle. The essential facts are that the parliament has 325 seats so for a working majority a government needs at least 163 supporters; the two party leaders who might form a coalition -- the former prime minister Ayad Allawi and the incumbent Nouri al-Maliki -- have 91 and 89 seats respectively, so each needs substantial additional support to be able to take office.

The wheeling and dealing that will now take place is beyond anyone other than a dedicated Iraq expert to follow. There are, however, two worries.
The first is for the Americans who had anticipated an earlier election and committed themselves to a massive withdrawal of forces in September; if the coalition negotiations are as complex as expected that time table may have to be changed.

The second is the behaviour of prime minister al-Maliki since it became likely that he would not win outright. He first invoked his role as commander in chief and subsequently spoke of a “strong suspicion” about the result.

Hopefully, he will concentrate his energies on coalition building rather than trying to overturn an election result that is the outcome of a seven year war.