A battle meant to form the largest parliamentary bloc in Iraq heated up Saturday after the election commission released the final results for the May 12 elections, which confirmed the victory of the Sayirun alliance of Muqtada al-Sadr and the Communist Party with most seats in parliament's total 329 members.
The Fatah alliance came second with 47 seats, while the Victory (Nasr) alliance of incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi came third with 42 seats.
During the weekend, the residence of al-Sadr in Al-Najaf became a destination for Iraqi leaders wishing to win the support of the Shiite cleric who had tipped the balance by winning 54 seats in the new Parliament.
Fifteen days after final election results are released, the new parliament must hold its first session to choose the new Speaker before a new president is elected to then ask the largest parliamentary bloc to form a cabinet.
It seems al-Sadr’s Sayirun alliance, the Victory alliance and the National Hikma (Wisdom) Movement headed by leader Ammar al-Hakim will be joining hands to form the biggest parliamentary bloc by allying with Sunni parties similar to Al-Wataniya Coalition, led by Iraq Vice President Ayad Allawi and Al-Qarar coalition led by Osama al-Nujaifi.
Observers believe that the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), headed by Masoud Barzani, could join al-Sadr’s parliamentary bloc.
On the other hand, Iran is weaving the threads of another bloc headed by Hadi al Ameri’s Conquest Alliance (al-Fatah) and former premier Nuri al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition.
Early this week, Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander General Qassem Suleimani was in Baghdad for talks with his Shiite allies to save Tehran’s influences in Iraq.
The Iraqi Parliament failed Saturday to hold an emergency session aimed to discuss the results of the recent parliamentary elections after failing to achieve a quorum.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
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