How did Sistani succeed in ousting Maliki?
Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani's fortitude, persistence and commitment to a more inclusive Iraqi democracy, along with his outreach to Iran, thwarted Nouri al-Maliki's attempt to serve a third term as prime minister.
The political behavior of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is characterized by composure, planning and continuity of work. In the past few years, he has carried out a large share of his projects through such behavior. For some time it was thought that Sistani had lost the political game to former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, after the latter completely took control over internal affairs and created close ties with external actors who are influential in Iraq, in such a way that was expected to grant him another four years in power.
Maliki warned Sistani to give up on his political demands, as the latter spoke of the necessity of Maliki stepping down to create political consensus among the different components of the new government. Maliki also galvanized religious guides who are opposed to Sistani and persuaded them to directly support him. This, however, did not foil the meticulous planning of Sistani, which he has been developing for a long time to protect the democratic process in Iraq.
The role that Sistani plays is delicate and difficult and stirs, at times, controversy; there is debate as to whether religious figures have the right to take political positions in a country where the people elect representatives to take political decisions. Maliki referred to this electoral process in strongly opposing Sistani's demands. However, it is impossible to properly debate this issue without taking into account the social situation in Iraq, the course of democratic rotation of power in the country and the political work style of Sistani.
Iraq is still a collective society, in which political decisions are made by societal authority: tribal leaders, clerics and the like who have influence over political decision-making. This poses a challenge to the democratic process in the country as elections constitute a tool that influential social figures use to preserve and expand their power. It is also used to remove democracy’s true character, which stipulates that people make free decisions.
