Barzani, Sadr’s coalition leader discuss formation of new government

Erbil (Iraqinews.com) – President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party Masoud Barzani met on Wednesday with a leader of Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sairoon coalition, which came first in the May 12 parliamentary elections, where they discussed the formation of the new Iraqi government.

According to a statement issued by the media office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Barzani met today “at his residence in Erbil with Raid Fahmi, the leader in al-Sadr’s Sairoon coalition and the secretary general of Iraqi Communist Party.”

“The two sides probed the formation of the new Iraqi government,” the statement read, adding that Fahmi expressed, during the meeting, his desire for “all Iraqi parties to be able to take part in the political life in Iraq following the announcement of official results of parliamentary elections.”

Barzani, meanwhile, stressed the importance of forming the “new Iraqi government based on the three principles of partnership, consensus and balance.”

Al-Sadr’s Sairoon coalition won 54 parliamentary seats in the May 12 parliamentary polls, followed by an al-Hashd al-Shaabi-linked coalition (47 seats) and Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi’s Victory bloc (42 seats), according to the election commission.

The vote results, however, have aroused widespread fraud allegations.

Al-Sadr’s coalition did not win the majority needed to form a government alone but will play a primary role in selecting the next prime minister.