This aspect is acutely relevant when it comes to analyzing defections. Some politicians declare defections from a sub-bloc (say, the Wifaq movement within the Iraqiyya alliance) but maintain they remain part of the wider bloc. Others insist on starting an entirely independent bloc without any parent coalition. Yet others remain deliberately ambiguous about the question of bloc allegiances, making it problematic to draw conclusions about their true allegiance.
Thankfully, the Iraqi parliament office periodically tries to create rosters of current parliamentarians with their affiliations. At least four such attempts have been made with respect to the current parliament, the most recent one being less than a month old. As such, it also purports to capture some of the fallout from one month of boycotting by the secular Iraqiyya coalition, which included some high-level defections.
In the new list, the all-Shiite National Alliance has 155 deputies, the secular Iraqiyya 89, the main Kurdish alliance 43, various other Kurdish parties 14, various Iraqiyya breakaway elements 12, various minority (and often pro-Kurdish) representatives 8.
Of course it doesn’t add up. Would have been shocking if it did. The official list makes for a total of 321 deputies in the Iraqi parliament, 4 less than there should have been (325). This in turn raises questions about the reliability of the whole thing and the need for a more detailed reexamination.
On closer inspection, the following obvious errors and lacunae in the latest parliament lists can be identified:
1. Muhammad Kazim al-Musawi of Dhi Qar (presumably ISCI) replaced ex-VP Adel Abd al-Mahdi on 9 August 2011 but is not listed.
2. Mufid Munim Ahmad of Salahaddin (State of Law) replaced minister Jasim Muhammad Jaafar on 21 January 2012 but is not listed.
3. Hasan al-Sari, affiliated with ISCI and ex-minister of state, returned to parliament 20 September 2011 but is not listed.
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