Iraqi Sunni coalition falls apart as power struggle ensues
As a united Sunni coalition has failed, Iraq's Sunni political forces have divided into several alliances, each hoping to win as many parliamentary seats as possible and occupy the position of "Sunni leadership" for the next four years.
BAGHDAD — Out of the 27 alliances registered with the Independent High Electoral Commission for the upcoming Iraqi general elections set for May, around 10 alliances represent the Sunni community. In fact, most of these alliances used to be part of the Coalition of Iraqi Sunni Forces.
The most notable coalitions are the Iraqi Decision Alliance led by Vice President Osama al-Nujaifi and Sheikh Khamis al-Khanjar; the National Coalition led by former Vice President Ayad Allawi, parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri and former Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq; and the Solidarity Coalition led by Sheikh Wadhah al-Sadid.
Although the parties organized conferences last year, namely in Ankara and Oman, with the support of some Arab countries and Turkey in the hopes of uniting the different Sunni parties and establishing a common political project, they were not able to form an inclusive political coalition. There were many reasons behind this failure, namely the “struggle for power,” as Dhafer al-Ani, a leader in the Iraqi Decision Alliance, expressed.
Ani told Al-Monitor that the “conferences held by Sunni parties over the past period aimed at a unified Sunni project, yet this project could not be completed because of the current divisions between the Sunnis in power and those of the opposition.”
