Iraq needs a “broad and strong” alliance to form the next government, said KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, adding that his KDP wants more clarity before formalizing any agreements with Iraqi parties.
A “broad and inclusive alliance should be formed in order to find a fundamental solution to the problems of Iraq, so that all the communities of Iraq see themselves as partners in running Iraq,” Barzani said in an interview with Rudaw.
He was responding to a question about the recently formed alliance between the Sayirun list of Muqtada al-Sadr and the Fatih list of Hadi al-Amiri.
He deemed the building of ties between parties a “positive step,” but said that a single alliance is not the final resolution to Iraq’s post-election political predicament.
Sadr’s list has been declared winner of the election, but voters did not serve up a clear mandate to any single party. The results of the election have also been challenged and a manual recount of all votes had been ordered.
Sadr has also reached an agreement to work with the Hikma movement led by Ammar al-Hakim and the al-Wataniya list of Ayad Allawi and Salim al-Jabouri.
The two Kurdish parties that picked up the most seats, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), have tentatively thrown their support behind the Sadr-Amiri alliance.
As deputy leader of the KDP, Barzani said they want more details before they sign onto join any coalition.
The new Iraqi government will have to tackle longstanding disputes between Baghdad and Erbil, including oil resources and the status of the disputed areas – issues that were brought to the fore after Kurdistan voted for independence last fall.
Rudaw: What do you make of the formation of the alliance between the Sayirun and Fatih lists?
Nechirvan Barzani: Building close relations between all the lists and parties of Iraq is a positive step at this time. But this situation cannot be resolved by the formation of an alliance between two lists. Rather, a broad and inclusive alliance should be formed in order to find a fundamental solution to the problems of Iraq, so that all the communities of Iraq see themselves as partners in running Iraq and in order to protect the rights of all, according to the constitution. Iraqi people should be given the civil, political, and service rights enshrined in the constitution. And this can be realized by the formation of a broad and strong alliance.
As the KDP, how do you think the winning Iraqi lists should be dealt with?
The joint stance currently formed between the KDP and PUK is important. But, as we have said earlier, the winning lists should meet in the Kurdistan Region and have a joint agenda for negotiations with the winning lists of the Iraqi election on the basis of our rights enshrined in the Iraqi constitution. At the moment, we don’t want to become part of any alliance without having a clear idea of the alliance’s agenda for the participation of other lists and the protection of the rights of all the communities, especially the rights of the Kurdistan nation and the Kurdistan Region, as enshrined in the Iraqi constitution. In this election, the number of seats won by each of the lists is not such that one can be seen as the majority list. That is why, in order to have a strong government, the government should have a good majority in the parliament.
A “broad and inclusive alliance should be formed in order to find a fundamental solution to the problems of Iraq, so that all the communities of Iraq see themselves as partners in running Iraq,” Barzani said in an interview with Rudaw.
He was responding to a question about the recently formed alliance between the Sayirun list of Muqtada al-Sadr and the Fatih list of Hadi al-Amiri.
He deemed the building of ties between parties a “positive step,” but said that a single alliance is not the final resolution to Iraq’s post-election political predicament.
Sadr’s list has been declared winner of the election, but voters did not serve up a clear mandate to any single party. The results of the election have also been challenged and a manual recount of all votes had been ordered.
Sadr has also reached an agreement to work with the Hikma movement led by Ammar al-Hakim and the al-Wataniya list of Ayad Allawi and Salim al-Jabouri.
The two Kurdish parties that picked up the most seats, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), have tentatively thrown their support behind the Sadr-Amiri alliance.
As deputy leader of the KDP, Barzani said they want more details before they sign onto join any coalition.
The new Iraqi government will have to tackle longstanding disputes between Baghdad and Erbil, including oil resources and the status of the disputed areas – issues that were brought to the fore after Kurdistan voted for independence last fall.
Rudaw: What do you make of the formation of the alliance between the Sayirun and Fatih lists?
Nechirvan Barzani: Building close relations between all the lists and parties of Iraq is a positive step at this time. But this situation cannot be resolved by the formation of an alliance between two lists. Rather, a broad and inclusive alliance should be formed in order to find a fundamental solution to the problems of Iraq, so that all the communities of Iraq see themselves as partners in running Iraq and in order to protect the rights of all, according to the constitution. Iraqi people should be given the civil, political, and service rights enshrined in the constitution. And this can be realized by the formation of a broad and strong alliance.
As the KDP, how do you think the winning Iraqi lists should be dealt with?
The joint stance currently formed between the KDP and PUK is important. But, as we have said earlier, the winning lists should meet in the Kurdistan Region and have a joint agenda for negotiations with the winning lists of the Iraqi election on the basis of our rights enshrined in the Iraqi constitution. At the moment, we don’t want to become part of any alliance without having a clear idea of the alliance’s agenda for the participation of other lists and the protection of the rights of all the communities, especially the rights of the Kurdistan nation and the Kurdistan Region, as enshrined in the Iraqi constitution. In this election, the number of seats won by each of the lists is not such that one can be seen as the majority list. That is why, in order to have a strong government, the government should have a good majority in the parliament.
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