ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraqi President Fuad Masum chaired a meeting of some representatives of political parties in Baghdad on Wednesday evening.
Vice President Nouri al-Maliki said they discussed three subjects: ongoing protests, formation of the new government, and preparation of an agenda for the new cabinet.
Fazil Mirani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Mala Bakhtiar of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) were the only representatives of Kurdish parties present at the meeting.
Also in attendance were head of the Hikma party Ammar al-Hakim, Vice President Osama al-Nujaifi, Dhia al-Asadi of Sadr’s Sayirun alliance, and Kazim al-Shemari of the Wataniya coalition.
The meeting was chaired by President Fuad Masum (R), seated next to Vice President Nouri al-Maliki. Photo: Rudaw
No representative of the party of current Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi was present.
“All the participating political parties and parliamentary blocs decided to accept the final results of the parliamentary election,” read a statement from Masum’s office, adding that the result of the manual recount is expected soon.
Iraq held parliamentary elections on May 12, but the results have been disputed and a manual recount is underway.
No single party received a strong mandate from voters and alliances will be key to forming the next government. There have been multiple negotiations over the weeks after the vote as parties jostle for position while waiting for results to be finalized.
Bakhtiar said that parties with a shared vision should ally together.
“Parties that have shared interests and views can form the biggest bloc and establish the government,” he told reporters after the meeting.
He noted that neither the Shiite nor Sunni parties have formed majority alliances so far: “Only in Kurdistan are the majority of seats allied.”
The KDP and PUK have agreed to join forces to negotiate with Iraqi parties in Baghdad in a bid to strengthen the position of Kurds who some pundits believe could play a kingmaker role since Shiite parties are divided over the shape of the next government.
The two Kurdish parties – who together secured 43 seats in the contested results – have said they are open to uniting with other Kurdish parties. That looks unlikely at the moment.
The Change Movement (Goran), the Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ), the Kurdistan Islamic Group (Komal), and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), which combined secured 15 seats, have disputed the May 12 election results, ordering a full manual recount of votes. They accuse the KDP and PUK of rigging the election.
“The KDP and PUK came together to Baghdad and will be together in the future,” said Bakhtiar. “Plus, KDP and PUK will have a shared project for all problems between Baghdad and Kurdistan including economic, legal, and territorial disputes.”
The acting government is currently facing a crisis. Iraqis angry about unemployment, government corruption, and lack of services have taken to the streets every day for over a week. Sporadic violence has broken out in the protests.
Abadi has appealed to the political parties for help in appeasing the protesters.
Bakhtiar said protesters “have some legitimate demands” and stressed the importance of the court ratifying final elections results so that the new government can be formed and get to work.
Masum said the parties that met at the presidential palace all agreed the demands of the protesters are “just,” but stressed the need to stem violence.
The parties “showed support for the Iraqi government to take proper measures in fulfilling the demands made by protesters. They also stressed that law and order should be respected, security and stability should be protected, chaos should be prevented, public and private institutions should be protected, showing support for security forces to prevent troublemakers who have infiltrated the protesters and exploited the situation to realize their objectives,” the statement read.
Updated at 11:41 pm
Vice President Nouri al-Maliki said they discussed three subjects: ongoing protests, formation of the new government, and preparation of an agenda for the new cabinet.
Fazil Mirani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Mala Bakhtiar of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) were the only representatives of Kurdish parties present at the meeting.
Also in attendance were head of the Hikma party Ammar al-Hakim, Vice President Osama al-Nujaifi, Dhia al-Asadi of Sadr’s Sayirun alliance, and Kazim al-Shemari of the Wataniya coalition.
The meeting was chaired by President Fuad Masum (R), seated next to Vice President Nouri al-Maliki. Photo: Rudaw
No representative of the party of current Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi was present.
“All the participating political parties and parliamentary blocs decided to accept the final results of the parliamentary election,” read a statement from Masum’s office, adding that the result of the manual recount is expected soon.
Iraq held parliamentary elections on May 12, but the results have been disputed and a manual recount is underway.
No single party received a strong mandate from voters and alliances will be key to forming the next government. There have been multiple negotiations over the weeks after the vote as parties jostle for position while waiting for results to be finalized.
Bakhtiar said that parties with a shared vision should ally together.
“Parties that have shared interests and views can form the biggest bloc and establish the government,” he told reporters after the meeting.
He noted that neither the Shiite nor Sunni parties have formed majority alliances so far: “Only in Kurdistan are the majority of seats allied.”
The KDP and PUK have agreed to join forces to negotiate with Iraqi parties in Baghdad in a bid to strengthen the position of Kurds who some pundits believe could play a kingmaker role since Shiite parties are divided over the shape of the next government.
The two Kurdish parties – who together secured 43 seats in the contested results – have said they are open to uniting with other Kurdish parties. That looks unlikely at the moment.
The Change Movement (Goran), the Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ), the Kurdistan Islamic Group (Komal), and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), which combined secured 15 seats, have disputed the May 12 election results, ordering a full manual recount of votes. They accuse the KDP and PUK of rigging the election.
“The KDP and PUK came together to Baghdad and will be together in the future,” said Bakhtiar. “Plus, KDP and PUK will have a shared project for all problems between Baghdad and Kurdistan including economic, legal, and territorial disputes.”
The acting government is currently facing a crisis. Iraqis angry about unemployment, government corruption, and lack of services have taken to the streets every day for over a week. Sporadic violence has broken out in the protests.
Abadi has appealed to the political parties for help in appeasing the protesters.
Bakhtiar said protesters “have some legitimate demands” and stressed the importance of the court ratifying final elections results so that the new government can be formed and get to work.
Masum said the parties that met at the presidential palace all agreed the demands of the protesters are “just,” but stressed the need to stem violence.
The parties “showed support for the Iraqi government to take proper measures in fulfilling the demands made by protesters. They also stressed that law and order should be respected, security and stability should be protected, chaos should be prevented, public and private institutions should be protected, showing support for security forces to prevent troublemakers who have infiltrated the protesters and exploited the situation to realize their objectives,” the statement read.
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