3 Sunni Groups Form Coalition for December Elections

NYT reported Three prominent Sunni political groups announced today that they had banded together to form a coalition to run in the upcoming elections, a move that signals an intent by Sunni Arabs to seriously engage in the political process.

This is good news. Ballots are a better way to solve things than bullets and bombs.

The three groups - the Iraqi People's Gathering, the Iraqi Islamic Party and the National Dialogue Council - hold strong anti-American views and are expected to attract right-wing Sunni Arab voters. Despite boycotting elections last January, Sunni Arabs made a strong showing during the constitutional referendum, turning out in large numbers in northern and eastern Iraq to try to vote down the document. In recent months, Sunni Arab clerics, sheiks and politicians have been exhorting people to get involved in the December elections, in order to secure power in the new government. The move by the three Sunni groups came one day after Iraqi electoral officials announced that voters had passed a new constitution, paving the way for parliamentary elections in December.