Head of the Victory (Nasr) alliance, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, and head of the Sairoun alliance, Moqtada al-Sadr opened on Sunday the door for establishing the largest parliamentary bloc that is expected to form the next Cabinet.
The two officials met in Baghdad in wake of Sadr’s victory in the recent parliamentary elections that saw him win 54 out of 328 seats.
Sadr and Abadi, who came third with 42 seats, asserted their commitment to forming a government that speaks to everyone.
Last week, Sadr invited leaders of parliamentary blocs to meet ahead of forming a government of technocrats.
However, on Sunday, the Shiite cleric changed his support for such a cabinet by using the term “paternalistic government,” while Abadi expressed his support for a cabinet of “national majority”.
On Sunday, a statement released by Abadi’s office said that he called on all blocs to accept the elections results, stressing the need for those who were victorious to immediately practice their duties at parliament.
“The meeting with Sadr was aimed at working together to speed up the formation of the government,” it added.
A source close to the Sadrist Movement told Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity that the Sairoun parliamentary bloc is expected to garner more seats in the coming days after several parties expressed their desire to join the alliance.
“The number of our seats might increase to 60 in the next few days,” the source said.
Fifteen days after final election results are released, the new parliament must hold its first session to choose a new speaker before a new president is elected to then ask the largest parliamentary bloc to form a cabinet.
Some reports have claimed that Sadr and Abadi will ally themselves with the National Hikma (Wisdom) Movement, headed by Ammar al-Hakim, to form the largest parliamentary bloc.
Professor of Political Science Dr. Amer Hassan Fayad told Asharq Al-Awsat that forming the largest bloc in Iraq is no longer an easy task due to the presence of several entities and a clear change in the political map.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
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