PM Abadi calls on neighboring states not to interfere in Iraq’s affairs

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi voiced fears on Tuesday about neighboring countries interfering in the internal affairs of Iraq, calling on them to avoid doing so.

During his weekly press briefing, Abadi stated that the people of Iraq have not voted for other countries to form a government for them. He did not specify to which countries he referred, but Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey are the would-be interlopers neighboring Iraq most commonly-mentioned by politicains and political observers.

Abadi thanked foreign states for "supporting stability" in Iraq and stated that Iraq welcomes relations with countries based on interests, "but it should not lead to their interference in Iraq’s internal affairs."

Domestic issues, he said, should be solved by Iraqis.

Since results from the May 12 parliamentary elections were relesed, parties and coalitions have engaged in dozens of meetings with one another about the formation of the new Iraqi government. Winning parties have the daunting task of negotiating an alliance large enough to assemble a cabinet with sufficient support to be approved by members of parliament within 90 days of the announcement of election results.

Multiple parties across the Kurdistan Region and Iraq have asked the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to re-count votes manually because of alleged voter fraud, with claims often focusing on new electronic devices used to identify voters and tally ballots. Others call for voiding the results and holding the entire election anew. IHEC's chief has defended the officially-released count.

Abadi has said demands to cancel the election results weremisguided and that other means to investigate suspected violations were available, asking IHEC to unite its efforts to deal with any violations and resolve issues caused by them.

On Monday, Muqtada al-Sadr, whose political coalition won Iraq’s 2018 national election, called on Tehran and Washington to not interfere in Iraqi affairs, especially in relation to governmnet formation.

Editing by John J. Catherine