The commission of 7 members makes its decisions with a simple majority of 4. In other words, the 3 Shiite Islamists will need at least one Kurd on their side to push through their agenda. Reflecting their electoral success in 2010, Iraqiyya is better represented than in the original commission proposed by the Maliki government in 2009.
At that time, Maliki had hoped to install Walid al-Hilli, a party ally, as chief of the new commission; conversely the Daawa is less prominent in the current commission line-up. Still, the fact that the board was approved by the Iraqi cabinet suggests Maliki probably considers he can live with it.
It is reported that the vote went ahead in parliament without any major protests. (By way of contrast, Iraqiyya once more successfully obstructed the vote to sack the mayor of Baghdad of ISCI against the wishes of some Maliki allies and possibly the Sadrists as well.) The overall parliamentary attendance figure was given at 195. No split vote was reported nor were any massive walkouts mentioned.
In other words, the de-Baathification board decision does seem to be one of those rare cases in Iraqi politics where every side is satisfied. One possible interpretation of how it succeeded is that Maliki’s Daawa is apparently taking a back seat and is leaving the role of being Baathist hardliner to the Sadrists.
Today’s vote on the de-Baathification commission is interesting also as a possible harbinger of dynamics at an upcoming important vote in the Iraqi parliament: The approval of a new election commission (IHEC). Both these votes can be done legally with a simple majority. However, with respect to IHEC, Maliki is more determined to have the current board replaced since its make-up dating back to 2007 antedates his own rise to power.
Alas, there was also another possible harbinger of future trends in Iraq today. After weeks with pressure on the minister of higher education to appear before parliament for questioning (and with an apparent ultimatum for him to do so this week) the Iraqi supreme court today produced a very timely ruling, as least as far as the minister’s point of view is concerned.
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