Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sayirun alliance, the National Hikma or Wisdom Movement led by Ammar al-Hakim, and the al-Wataniya list led by Ayad Allawi collectively secured 95 seats in the May 12 parliamentary election.
“There is a profound understanding with the Sayirun alliance and Wataniya list and we have reached some basic elements,” Abdullah Zaidi, a member of the Hikma Movement’s negotiating team, told Rudaw.
“The meetings are ongoing and we have not closed our door to other blocs including Kurds, Sunnis, and Shiites,” he said.
He added they want the next Iraqi government take “a nationwide structure.”
The Sayirun alliance is a unique meeting of Shiite cleric Sadr, the Communist Party, and secularists. The Hikma group is Shiite and Wataniya is Sunni.
Leaders of the three parties have signed an agreement.
Though there was a flurry of meetings between winners and losers in the days after the vote, this appears to be the first concrete step taken towards forming a sizeable bloc.
The three parties are developing ties as the election results are in doubt. The parliament has ordered a manual recount of votes.
Some parties, including the PUK, have already warned of growing tensions in Iraq after the parliament also decided to cancel the votes of the diaspora, IDPs, and the Peshmerga.
