No Shia-bloc coalition to form government in next few days: Iraqi election runner-up

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Talks of a new Iraqi government being formed within the next 72 hours by the four main Shia blocs are “baseless,” head of the al-Fatih Coalition, Hadi al-Amiri, said on Sunday.

“We are determined to overcome sectarianism and form the largest national bloc, inclusive of all components in Iraq, to address the country’s problems,” Amiri, who is also a former commander with the Iranian-backed Shia Hashd al-Shaabi, told Iraqi TV channel al-Sumaria.

On Sunday, the spokesperson for the National Wisdom Movement (al-Hikma), Mohammed Jamil Mayahi, said that a coalition would be formed between the Sairoon Alliance, al-Nasr (Victory) Alliance, al-Fatih, and al-Hikma “in the next 72 hours.”

Mayahi mentioned that once the coalition between the Shia blocs was established, a new Iraqi government would be formed.

The winner of Iraqi parliamentary elections, the Sairoon Alliance led by influential Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, has not yet made any comments regarding rumors of a potential Shia bloc-coalition.

Sadr has spoken of a “paternal and inclusive” government, stating “the door is open” to all those who want to build “a sovereign Iraqi homeland.”

On May 12, people across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region took part in national legislative elections, the first since the defeat of the Islamic State (IS).

Turnout stood at 44.5 percent, according to Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC). It is the lowest voter turnout rate in Iraq in the past 13 years. In the 2014 elections, roughly 60 percent of people showed up at the polls and cast their ballot.

Editing by Nadia Riva