March 24, 2010Iraqi’s Al-Maliki Nears Agreement With Rival Shiites
(AFP) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki is close to reviving an alliance with former Shiite Muslim rivals that may create the biggest bloc in the newly elected parliament, a political ally of the premier said.
An accord between al-Maliki’s State of Law bloc and the Iraqi National Alliance of cleric Ammar al-Hakim will probably be announced in the coming days, State of Law candidate Safia al-Suhail said in an interview in Baghdad.
“There are important steps that the State of Law and the Iraqi National Alliance are taking on the road to integration and creating a big bloc in the next parliament,” Suhail said. “There are ongoing meetings to announce this accord.”
State of Law and the INA, which joined forces to form a government after the last election in 2005, may win about 160 of the 325 seats that were up for grabs in the parliamentary ballot on March 7, according to media estimates. That’s enough to form a new government with backing from smaller groups. Leaders of the two blocs held meetings late yesterday.
Iraq’s political parties are maneuvering in search of allies as the election is set to leave none of them with enough seats in parliament to govern alone. Final election results are due on March 26, though the formation of a new government could take months.
Al-Maliki Advantages
Al-Maliki’s closest competitor is a bloc led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.
Al-Maliki “has the ability to use his office to promise sops to potential allies in ways that other prime ministerial candidates do not,” David Bender, an analyst at Eurasia Group, a New York-based political risk consultancy, said in an e-mailed commentary.
Allawi’s bloc, which has support among the Sunni Muslim minority, may also try to forge a deal with the INA, said Bender. Another option would be for a compromise candidate other than al-Maliki and Allawi to emerge as prime minister.
Suhail said State of Law is “committed” to al-Maliki’s leadership, and that any talk of removing his candidature for the premiership as “a condition to entering alliances, including with the Iraqi National Alliance, is incorrect.”
Negotiations with the Kurdish Alliance, expected to win most of the parliament seats in the semi-autonomous north of Iraq, are producing “significant results,” Suhail said.
She said State of Law is also talking to parties within Iraqiya, the coalition led Allawi.
Iraq’s 115 billion-barrel oil reserve is behind only that of Saudi Arabia and Iran. Iraq pumped about 2.4 million barrels of crude a day last month, according to estimates.
AFP source
(AFP) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki is close to reviving an alliance with former Shiite Muslim rivals that may create the biggest bloc in the newly elected parliament, a political ally of the premier said.
An accord between al-Maliki’s State of Law bloc and the Iraqi National Alliance of cleric Ammar al-Hakim will probably be announced in the coming days, State of Law candidate Safia al-Suhail said in an interview in Baghdad.
“There are important steps that the State of Law and the Iraqi National Alliance are taking on the road to integration and creating a big bloc in the next parliament,” Suhail said. “There are ongoing meetings to announce this accord.”
State of Law and the INA, which joined forces to form a government after the last election in 2005, may win about 160 of the 325 seats that were up for grabs in the parliamentary ballot on March 7, according to media estimates. That’s enough to form a new government with backing from smaller groups. Leaders of the two blocs held meetings late yesterday.
Iraq’s political parties are maneuvering in search of allies as the election is set to leave none of them with enough seats in parliament to govern alone. Final election results are due on March 26, though the formation of a new government could take months.
Al-Maliki Advantages
Al-Maliki’s closest competitor is a bloc led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.
Al-Maliki “has the ability to use his office to promise sops to potential allies in ways that other prime ministerial candidates do not,” David Bender, an analyst at Eurasia Group, a New York-based political risk consultancy, said in an e-mailed commentary.
Allawi’s bloc, which has support among the Sunni Muslim minority, may also try to forge a deal with the INA, said Bender. Another option would be for a compromise candidate other than al-Maliki and Allawi to emerge as prime minister.
Suhail said State of Law is “committed” to al-Maliki’s leadership, and that any talk of removing his candidature for the premiership as “a condition to entering alliances, including with the Iraqi National Alliance, is incorrect.”
Negotiations with the Kurdish Alliance, expected to win most of the parliament seats in the semi-autonomous north of Iraq, are producing “significant results,” Suhail said.
She said State of Law is also talking to parties within Iraqiya, the coalition led Allawi.
Iraq’s 115 billion-barrel oil reserve is behind only that of Saudi Arabia and Iran. Iraq pumped about 2.4 million barrels of crude a day last month, according to estimates.
AFP source
