(AINA) -- The Iraqi Provincial Councils elections will take place at the end of January, 2009. 440 seats in 14 Iraqi governorates are up for grabs. There will be no elections in the three Kurdish dominated governorates of Arbil, Dohuk (Nohadra), and Sulaimaniya at this time. The elections for the governorate of Kirkuk were postponed as well until the disputed areas issue is resolved. There is a considerable concentration of Assyrians (also known as Chaldean and Syriac) in Dohuk, Arbil, and Kirkuk who will not vote.

The Assyrians will concentrate on the elections in the governorates of Baghdad and Nineveh and to a lesser extent in Basra.

There are 57 seats to compete for in Baghdad and 37 in Nineveh. The Iraqi Parliament has guaranteed one seat at least for the Assyrians (Christians) in each of the governorates of Baghdad, Nineveh and Basra. If no group is successful in attaining the required minimum votes to secure a seat, the group with the largest votes in a particular governorate will win the guaranteed seat in that governorate. For example, if each seat in Nineveh Council requires 30,000 votes and no Assyrian group wins that many votes, the group with the highest votes would win the "guaranteed" seat in Nineveh. However, if a group gained 60,000 votes in Nineveh, it would secure two seats.

Many slates (lists) and alliances have been created already. Here are the lists/alliances that the Assyrians have created or have been part of.

Ishtar Patriotic slate 513

This slate is promoted and supported by Sargis Aghajan and the Kurdish political parties. The biggest force in slate 513 is the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian People's Council of Ankawa, which was established in March 12, 2007 under the direction and support of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to challenge the authority of the independent Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM).

The Ishtar Patriotic Slate 513 is composed of the following groups, associations and individuals:

1. Chaldean National Congress (CNC)
2. Bet Nahrain Democratic Party (BNDP)
3. Patriotic Union of Beth Nahrain (PUBN)
4. Notables of Qaraqosh
5. Chaldean Cultural Association of Ankawa
6. Al-Suryan Independent Gathering Movement (SIGM)

The Ishtar Patriotic slate 513 candidates are:

1. For Nineveh Governorate: Sa'ad Tanyos Jajji (SIGM)
2. For Baghdad Governorate: Giwargis Esho Sada

The Chaldean National Congress slate 512

Establishmed after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The group formed a united front with slate 513 of Aghajan to participate in the 2009 elections. The agreement between slates 513 and 512 is that slate 513 would run in Baghdad and Nineveh while slate 512 will compete over the Christian seat in the Basra Governorate.

The Chaldean National Congress candidate for Basra Governorate is Salah Aziz Yusuf, and he is the third candidate running for the 512 and 513 alliance (the other two noted above).

The Assyrian Patriotic Party (APP) of Minister Nimrod Baito Youkhanna

The APP is running under the Kurdish coalition slates in both Nineveh and Baghdad.

For Nineveh, the APP will run under Kurdish slate 236, which includes:

1. Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of Barazani
2. Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) of Talabani
3. Kurdistan Islamic Party
4. Assyrian Patriotic Party (APP)
5. Kurdistan Communist Party
6. Kurdistan Democratic Socialist Party
7. Other individuals

For Baghdad, the APP will run under Kurdish slate 439, which includes:

1. Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)
2. Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)
3. Assyrian Patriotic Party (APP)
4. Kurdistan Democratic Socialist Party
5. al-Akha' Turkoman Party
6. The Party of Kadihi (Toilers) of Kurdistan

The Chaldean Democratic Union Party (CDUP) Slate 503

The Chaldean Democratic Union Party of Abd al-Ahad Afram Sawa, who won his parliament seat in Baghdad for being on the Kurdish slate in the 2005 Iraqi National elections, is running presumably as an independent list.

The Chaldean Democratic Union Party (slate 503) Candidates are:

1. For Basra Governorate: Sa'ad Matti
2. For Baghdad Governorate: Anwar Potros Zaito al-Jizrawi
3. For Nineveh Governorate: Lu'aai Francis

The Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM) Slate 504 (Rafidain List)

ADM is running as an independent party, just as it did in the January 30 and December 15, 2005 Iraqi National elections.

The ADM candidates are:

1. For Nineveh Governorate: Sami Habib Estefo
2. For Baghdad Governorate: Hana' Emmanuel Giwargis al-Qas
3. For Basra Governorate: Robert David Giwargis

The Namiq Nadhim Girgis Slate 507

Girgis is running as a single independent individual under slate 507 for the Christian seat in Baghdad.

By Fred Aprim