New Era

The provincial election results seem for the most part to be a vote of confidence for Maliki who managed to defeat Hakim in all the provinces previously controlled by SIIC. Maliki managed to gain Basra from the Fadheela party and also Maysan from the Sadrists.

Strangely though Kerbala, the only province Maliki's party had previously controlled was lost to Yusif Haboobi, an independent candidate, but Maliki is not going to worry too much about losing a province when he just gained 9 others.

Throughout 2008 I heard from many people who had simply had enough of SIIC and their direction, policy and attitude. Many of those I spoke to predicted that Hakim would lose a few provinces but no one predicted that this would happen. The results came as a complete shock to everyone in Iraq, not least to members of SIIC and the Hakim family.

The most embarrassing defeat for SIIC seems to be Najaf, Hakim's birthplace and what was once his power base in the south. This defeat is not only shocking because Najaf has always been historically linked with the Hakim family but because Najaf was one of the few cities in Iraq where the provincial government actually provided many services for the people.

The reconstruction of Najaf by Governor As'ad Abu Gilal and his Deputy Hassan Abdan (both members of SIIC) was used as a model by the other provinces because Najaf set the bar at a higher standard. New roads, schools, hospitals, bridges and even an International Airport are just some of things accomplished by the local government.

Last summer when I was coming back to Najaf from Rifa'i, a city in Dhi Qar, I asked the taxi driver whether or not we had reached Najaf and he said, in a depressing tone "Well can't you tell? Look at the roads and pavements. Of course we're in Najaf". The progress in Najaf both in terms of security and infrastructure was clear for all to see and drivers who pass by or stop in Najaf always complain about the state in their cities. So for people of Najaf to vote for Maliki instead of Hakim is a bold statement. No doubt SIIC members have been asking themselves where it all went wrong every since the initial results were published.

Parties in Iraq tried to use some very desperate measures in order to gain votes. These tactics could very well have worked 4 years ago but now the average Iraqi who receives a blanket or radiator from a political party just a week before the elections starts to question this act of charity. He or she will wonder why they did not receive this blanket last winter, or the winter before that.

Al-Forat used classic propaganda tricks to fool the public into thinking they will be the winners. A few days before election day they were broadcasting sample polls from across southern Iraq indicating that SIIC had around 50% of the votes in many of the cities. These attempts, as well as Hakim's sectarian "Ya Hussain" campaign proved to be futile.

There is a clear sign of maturity of the electorate and the success of these elections should be a lesson to all the politicians in Iraq. If these results are anything to go by then the next general elections could be a turning point in Iraq's history. The people will no longer vote for a party because it is more "Shia" or "Sunni" than another. The people want security, water and electricity (for now) and the politicians better listen up good or they will meet the same end every Governor in Iraq is about to face.