Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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The president of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, Massoud Barzani, leaves the Elysée Palace in Paris on May 23, 2014, after a meeting with the French President.
(AFP PHOTO/BERTRAND GUAY)

Barzani threatens referendum in Kurdistan if Maliki gets third term

by Hamza Mustafa | May 27, 2014 | Middle East

London, Asharq Al-Awsat—The president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, Massoud Barzani, threatened on Monday to hold a referendum on renegotiating the autonomous region’s relationship with Baghdad if incumbent Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki wins a third term in...

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An Iraqi election commission official pulls ballot boxes at a polling station in the capital, Baghdad, on May 8, 2014, following the country’s general elections. (AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE)

Opinion: The Scourge of Sectarianism

by Eyad Abu Shakra | May 22, 2014 | Opinion

The results of the Iraqi elections did not come as a surprise to me, not do I believe they would have surprised any shrewd observer of the Iraqi political scene. The regional project that these results betray is clear to see, and Iraq’s politicians are playing the...

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An Iraqi man reads a local newspaper the day after results revealed that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki won the most seats in parliamentary elections, in Baghdad on May 20, 2014. (AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE)

Tension mounts in Baghdad after initial election results announced

by Hamza Mustafa | May 20, 2014 | Middle East

Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraq’s electoral authorities announced the preliminary results of the country’s parliamentary elections on Monday amid mounting tension in the capital. Incumbent prime minister Nuri Al-Maliki’s State of Law coalition fell short of an outright...

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Iraqi electoral workers count ballots at a counting center in Baghdad, Iraq, on Wednesday, May 14, 2014. (AP Photo/ Karim Kadim)

Iraq: Former PM accuses electoral commission of bias

by Hamza Mustafa | May 16, 2014 | Middle East

Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Former Iraqi prime minister Iyad Allawi launched a fierce attack on the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) on Thursday, accusing its members of being biased in favor of certain political trends. “The IHEC is not qualified to run the...

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Employees from the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) count votes at an analysis centre in Baghdad May 9, 2014. (Reuters/Ahmed Saad)

Iraq: Shi’ite Alliance deadlocked over Maliki endorsement

by Hamza Mustafa | May 9, 2014 | Middle East

Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraq’s largest Shi’ite electoral bloc remained deadlocked over renewing Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki’s term in office, as early polling results suggested that his State of Law Coalition, a former member of the Shi’ite bloc, is on course...