June 27, 2010
Iraqiya in talks with Sadrists on coalition
BAGHDAD: Members of the secular Iraqiya slate have met legislators loyal to Moqtada Sadr to discuss the way forward on a new government, Iraqiya leaders said.
The Iraqiya slate of former prime inister Iyad Allawi won the March 7 parliamentary elections in Iraq by a narrow margin.
None of the leading parties secured the 163-seat majority needed to unilaterally form a new government, though a post-election partnership with Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law and the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) is four seats short of 163.
Rafie Al Issawi, an influential leader from Allawi’s slate and deputy prime minister, met with Sadrist members of parliament to discuss the political future of Iraq, the Voices of Iraq news agency said quoting an Iraqiya statement.
“The two sides held a one-hour meeting to discuss the future of alliances and ways to overhaul the government platform in a bid to bring the nation out of its current crisis,” the statement read.
Sadrists, who have opposed a second term for Maliki, took 40 seats running under the INA banner in the March 7 vote.
Iraqi government spokesman Ali Al Dabbagh said that Maliki and Allawi were scheduled to discuss the political process during meetings next week.
He declined to elaborate on the agenda, adding only that the “important meeting will tackle a number of crucial issues.”
gulftimes
