Iraqi Parties Announce Alliance to Form Gov’t

Date: 20 August 2018 - 21:27

News ID: ۵۶۵۳۰

BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – Iraqi political leaders have agreed on the formation of a cross-sectarian "core" political alliance that would begin the formation of a new government.
Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Shia cleric Ammar al-Hakim and representatives of the mostly Sunni al-Wataniya political coalition met in the Babylon Hotel in Baghdad to push forward talks on forming a new government, following the long-delayed ratification of the 12 May election results.
In a statement released following the discussions, the group announced their intention to build an alliance that was "cross-sectarian and refuses partisanship in all of its forms”.
"In a national Iraqi decision springing from the interest of our country, and responding to the demands of the people, we agreed today to form the core of an alliance that will seek to form the parliamentary bloc that can form the government,” it read.
It added that the new group would "seek to seriously and actively contribute to forming a government that works... to provide services, rebuilds, return IDPs [internally displaced persons], fights corruption, and holds the corrupt accountable”.
The creation of a new government in Iraq has been delayed since May, when the results of the parliamentary elections were fiercely disputed, leading to a manual recount of votes. No government could be formed until the result was ratified.
Sadr’s coalition, Sa'iroun, held 54 seats in the 329-seat parliament. Abadi, whose coalition, the Victory Alliance, had won only 42 seats to become third, formed an alliance with Sa'iroun in the aftermath of the election.
Iraqi lawmakers now have three months to form the new government. To do that, they need to hold their first session and elect a new speaker. From that point, they will have one month to elect a president.
The president will ask the largest bloc in the parliament to elect a prime minister who will form a government.
This is the fourth poll of its kind since the 2003 U.S. invasion, which led to a sharp rise in sectarian tensions and ensuing terror-related violence in Iraq.
The next prime minister will face the huge task of rebuilding a country shattered by the war against Daesh and the U.S. invasion.

Iraqi Shia Muslim leader and head of Hikma party Ammar al-Hakim, left, and Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr meet in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf