The May elections in Iraq were followed by a string of negotiations among the winning blocs, concluding with an alliance announced June 13 between the leading Kurdish and Shiite slates. This underlines once again the tertiary role played by Sunni politicians in Iraq. Despite the Supreme Court decision to allow a recount of the votes, the decline of Sunni players in the political game will remain and can be attributed to miscalculations, local dynamics and the community’s disillusionment, which will need to be addressed by the new political class.
A recent report by Utica Risk Services concluded, “The Iraqi Sunni political class left this election with less coherence than ever before.” The emergence of powerful dynamics, compounded with the fallout of the war on the Islamic State (IS), which resulted in a large displacement of the Sunni population, as well as the corruption and division of local players, have all contributed to the erosion of the Sunni community’s power.
