RS21968
Iraq: Elections, Constitution, and Government
March 20, 2007

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U.S. Department of State

Summary:

Elections in 2005 for a transition government (January 30, 2005), a permanent constitution (October 15), and a permanent (four year) government (December 15) produced a broad-based but Shiite-led government that has been unable to reduce Sunni popular resentment. President Bush's January 10, 2007, Baghdad security initiative requires Iraqi efforts to achieve national reconciliation; these efforts have proceeded far more slowly than expected but are not broadly deadlocked. (See CRS Report RL31339, Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security, by Kenneth Katzman.)