Iraq's election didn't make a huge splash in the U.S., but the results of the April 30 vote were released this week and the outcome has important ramifications not just for Iraq but the wider region. The incumbent prime minister Nouri al Maliki's party came out way ahead.
Iraq has faded from the American radar, but it saw nearly a decade of U.S. military operations. And it's sandwiched between Syria, where a civil war is raging, and Iran, where nuclear negotiations are at a critical juncture.
The international community has repeatedly warned that if Iraq can't reconcile its ethnic and sectarian differences, the country could fracture and exacerbate these regional tensions.
Maliki, who continues to have U.S. support, seems poised to hold onto his job he's had for the past eight years even though there are many who doubt that he can bring about reconciliation.
He is a Shiite Islamist politician and in recent years of his rule violence has surged. Ethnic and sectarian divides have deepened. Corruption is a chronic problem and public services are still limited.
Yet according to most counts, Maliki's State of Law alliance, which is dominated by the Shiite Muslim majority, won at least 92 of the 328 seats in parliament, and maybe 100 or more, if other close allies are included.
State of Law won nearly three times as many seats as it nearest rival, but it will still need to work with other parties to form a majority in parliament that would consist of at least 165 seats.
So why did Maliki do so well at the polls when Iraq is facing so many serious problems?
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