Iraqis have defied threats of violence to successfully hold their first multi-party election in a half-century. But Chinese experts on Mideast issues believe the Iraqi people faces an arduous task to unite together and reconstruct their warn-torn country.  

While Iraqis anxiously wait for election workers to finish counting the ballots, China's Mideast analysts predict that the election will have great influence on the future political situation in Iraq.

Li Shaoxian is a researcher with the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.

He says the imbalance of political strength between different Iraqi parties will be cemented after the election and more efforts should be made to protect the peace and security of the country.

"The most important and difficult work after the election is to unite Iraq to avoid possible splitting," he said. "To achieve that goal, Iraq's future government and parliament should first strengthen its security work and also avoid the trend of splitting of the country."

His opinion is echoed by another Mideast researcher Yin Gang with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"As far as the performances of different political parties are concerned, I think though the political strengthen among them will be further contrasted, Iraq will gradually move towards harmony and stability. And there is little possibility that any civil war will take place," Yin said.

Another important factor influencing the Iraqi political situation is the 150, 000 US armed forces in Iraq.

As for whether this large force will withdraw from Iraq, former Chinese Ambassador to Iraq Sun Bigan says the US will withdraw its forces only after it has secured its goals.

"I think in the future this force won't all stay in Iraq; however, it won't all withdraw from it," Sun said. "It is very likely that some soldiers will be left in Iraq after Iraq's situation is under control and the US secures its economic and strategic interests."

Despite a tough road ahead for national unity, Chinese analysts believe the elections in Iraq will help bring stability to the country and be an important step towards its reconstruction.

(CRI.com February 2, 2005)