KDP President Masoud Barzani and Moqtada al-Sadr discuss government formation on phone

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) President Masoud Barzani received a phone call from Moqtada al-Sadr on Thursday wanting to discuss Iraq’s political process and government formation.

According to the Shiite cleric’s office, before speaking with KDP President Barzani, al-Sadr called Mohammad al-Halboosi, the Iraqi Speaker of Parliament, and his long-time rival, Nouri al-Maliki.

Barzani and al-Sadr discussed “the latest developments” in the process of government formation, according to a statement from Barzani headquarters.

Joined by most of the Sunni parties, Al-Sadr and Barzani have entered into an alliance to form Iraq’s new government, but five months after the parliamentary elections, the political parties are still in negotiations.

The alliance has called for a majority government, while the opposition favors maintaining the consensus-based formation, a political institution since 2005.

The Sadrists were the biggest winners of the election, securing 73 of the assembly’s 329 seats. The KDP has 31 members of parliament. In total, the trilateral alliance now holds 174 seats.

The political parties are still discussing who to elect as the new president of the country, who will in turn choose a prime minister from the largest parliamentary bloc.