Source from the parliament stated that a security force has lifted the concrete barriers situated in front of the parliament building.
http://www.alliraqnews.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12042:defense-committee-describes-lifting-barriers-from-parliament-building-as-qfalse-procedureq-&catid=35:political&Itemid=2

If I had to put my ‘Observer Hat’ on, I would say that Observer would make the following argument: some people who would vote against Maliki would only do so if ensured that Maliki would not politically survive such a vote. So for 163 to show up, they would be taking a political risk when they know constitutionally, it means nothing.

Putting my ‘Expat Mo Hat’ back on: I agree with you RV….By the way, they need not even show up in parliament, they could all show up in Erbil and take a big group picture with a “I Hate Maliki” banner…

regards,
M

It is far from being over. I believe, if Maliki succeeds in surviving this episode, he will face a most difficult test in the next elections.

Maliki prepared his battle with controversial supreme court decisions that his opponents underestimate or don’t give proper attention. He also used the Kirkuk dispute to try to make defections in Iraqiya. Maliki knows that these cards may help him in his battle now, but they will be a burden in the long run. But that cannot be exploited by short term strategies as is common in Iraqi politics.

Maliki prepared to make the Istijwab more difficult (or simply looks hopeless to his challengers) by the latest court decision. However, I believe that Iraqiya should go for Istijwab. They lost enough time persuading Talabany to submit his request unsuccessfully and may lose more time, and be prepared to ensure quorum and sufficient number of deputies when voting take place. Or, if Maliki refuses Istijwab based on court decision, Iraqiya should start from now preparing legal and constitutional arguments against the court ruling using all legal and media means. In fact they should have started challenging that decision since it was announced.

I am well aware that the Iraqis are not unfamiliar to the art of corruption and bribery; however I would categorically deny that all the defections from Iraqiyya recently can be attributed to this factor alone. Some has to do with the politics of disputed territories in northern Iraq; we saw exactly the same tendency in 2008 with the 22 July trend.

The more unsavoury elements of new support for Maliki are really extra-parliamentary and do not really impact the numbers game: I am thinking of Asaib Ahl al-Haqq and other Sadrist splinters and even sympathetic members of Kataeb Hizbollah. Their support for Maliki in this struggle is clearly not a good omen, but may well be what Iran likes about how things are shaping up.

P.S. Something I raised in my very first couple of posts here – in our obsession with Maliki vs. Iraqiya (unequal though that fight is), we ‘educated’ Iraqis are losing serious sight of how all this is affecting the long-term future of the country. A simple logical projection on all fronts (economic, environmental, societal) demonstrates a very very poor future for the country. Beyond all the BS we’re being fed about “improvements” in the oil sector, there really is nothing to be hopeful about IMO. However, I wouldn’t want to attract Reidar’s ire here, let’s leave all that to a separate discussion!

Btw Reidar – correct me if I’m wrong but you appeared to be implicitly sceptical of the numbers throughout the NCV game. However, assuming the rough calculations reported above are correct there is clearly a sufficient number of deputies “flirting” with the NCV to make it a realistic possibility. Moreover, the actions of Maliki and allies both prior (supreme court decisions) and during this saga demonstrated their fear of this. I know you wouldn’t want to get drawn into a discussion around the effectiveness of underhand “payments”, but do you seriously believe that the relevant deputies who dropped-out of the NCV at the last minute did so out of love for Maliki’s policies? If you do, I would tell you that you are giving FAR too much credit to Iraqi politicians. Money and fear are the order of the day, no amount of political analysis will help you get to the bottom of that.