Anbar reaches across sectarian divide

RAMADI, Iraq, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Sunni provincial coalitions in Anbar are reaching across the sectarian divide to consider new alliances as Iraq prepares for January parliamentary elections.

Iraqi lawmakers moved to position themselves for the parliamentary elections in January with a formal registration process in August.

Political analysts writing for the Iraqi politics Web site Niqash say it is likely members of the Anbar Awakening Council will unite with the State of Law of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The Sunni Awakening Council secured a victory in the January provincial elections for Anbar, while State of Law, a Shiite slate, trounced its rivals in the polls.

For his part, Saleh Mutlag, the anti-Iranian head of the National Dialogue Front, said his party might align with former Shiite Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and his Iraqi National Accord.

The Iraqi political climate was upended in August with the death of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, one of the founding fathers of the post-invasion Iraq and head of the influential Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council. Days before his passing, Shiite lawmakers formed the Iraqi National Alliance, which included breakaway members from the Awakening councils among its members.

Maliki is expected to seek another term in the January polls. With several smaller parties emerging in the newly democratic Iraq, unity may be the norm as lawmakers look for new, stronger alliances.