NAJAF: Shia cleric Muktada Sadr, the winner of Iraq’s October parliamentary election, met with rivals of the pro-Iranian Hashad al-Shaabi former paramilitary coalition ahead of the opening of parliament on Wednesday.
The October 10 vote was rejected by the Fatah Alliance, the political wing of pro-Tehran Hashd, but Iraq’s top court on Monday dismissed his allegations of voter fraud and confirmed the results.
This paved the way for parliament to meet and elect a president – who would then name the prime minister to serve to form a new government.
In multi-confessional and multi-ethnic Iraq, the formation of governments has involved complicated negotiations since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.
On Wednesday, leaders including Fatah Alliance chief Hadi al-Ameri, senior Hashd official Faleh al-Fayed and Qais al-Khazali, head of the Assab Ahl al-Haq force – a key component of Hashd – were hosted by Sadr at his home . According to the state news agency INA, in the Iraqi pilgrimage city of Najaf.
The INA reported that the leaders discussed the “political situation” and “the formation of the next government”.
Sadr, a political fanatic and former US militia leader who opposes all foreign interference, met with leaders of pro-Iranian parties earlier this month.
Iraq is trying to recover from years of war and jihadist violence, but continues to grapple with political divisions, corruption and poverty.
Iraq’s Shia majority parties have previously struck deals to work together, but Sadr is insisting he wants to form a coalition capable of forming a parliamentary majority.
Sadar’s movement won more than a fifth of the 73 seats in the assembly, out of a total of 329 seats. The Fatah coalition won 17 seats, sharply down from its 48 in the previous assembly, and the Hashad leaders rejected the result.
Sadar, a self-styled protector against all forms of corruption, has repeatedly said that the next prime minister will be chosen by his movement.
A descendant of an influential clerical family who led a militia against the US-led occupation of Iraq, Sadr distinguished himself from other Shia factions by trying to distance himself from both Iranian and American influence.
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