Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr have announced that their blocs are joining forces in a bid to create a new government after weeks of political tensions following last month's parliamentary elections.

Sadr's Sairoon Alliance won 54 seats in the May vote to become the largest bloc in Iraq's 329-seat parliament, while Abadi's alliance - once seen as a frontrunner - came in third, with just 42 seats.

After a three-hour meeting on Saturday in the Shia holy city of Najaf, the two men issued a joint statement announcing they had set up a coalition.

The statement said their alliance "transcends sectarianism and ethnic" issues "in order to speed up the formation of the new government and agree on the principles which serve the aspirations of our people".

"We announce a cross-sectarian, cross-ethnic alliance to speed up forming the next government and to agree on common points that guarantee the interests of the Iraqi people," Sadr said at a news conference after the meeting.

Sadr, who once led violent campaigns against the US occupation that ended in 2011, has emerged as a nationalist opponent of powerful Shia parties allied with neighbouring Iran and as a champion of the poor.

He called for a wider alliance consisting of all components of Iraqi society that would form an inclusive government.

The May 12 vote was marred by historically low turnout and fraud allegations.

Triple alliance?

The joint statement did not mention an alliance al-Sadr formed earlier this month with the pro-Iranian former fighters under Hadi al-Amiri, whose list came second in the election with 47 seats.

There was no immediate reaction from al-Amiri's camp, but al-Abadi said his pact with al-Sadr would not compromise the Shia leader's other alliance.



"I affirm that this alliance is not in contrast to any other alliances either of the two lists have previously entered into with other blocs, rather, it flows in the same direction and same principles," said the prime minister

The top three winning blocs, all Shia-led, have upwards of 140 seats between them. At least 165 seats are needed to form a government although traditionally the ruling bloc in parliament tends to be larger so as to include Sunni Arab and Kurdish politicians.

Al-Sadr's alliance comprising of communists and secular Iraqis has announced it is fiercely opposed to any foreign interference in Iraq - whether Tehran's or Washington's.

Amiri is Iran's closest ally in Iraq, having spent two years in exile there during the era of former President Saddam Hussein.

Bill Law, a journalist with years of experience in covering Iraqi politics, said the coalition between the leading three political figures "needs to work for the sake of Iraq".

"It's been a really extraordinary journey for al-Sadr," he told Al Jazeera.

"A little more than 10 years ago, his Mahdi Army was killing and ambushing American soldiers in Iraq and now he is the kingmaker after an election that had a very low turnout and was marred by many allegations of irregularities - and yet he has been able to pull together the Shia-supported al-Amiri and to bring al-Abadi and his bloc into this broader coalition."

Talks to form a new government are expected to continue for weeks or months.</s>Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and prominent Shia cleric and politician Muqtada al-Sadr sealed an alliance to form a new government late Saturday.

Announcement came in two leaders' joint news conference in the southern city of Najaf late Saturday.

Al-Sadr said that he conveyed some issues about new government to Al-Abadi. Those are "fighting against corruption, strengthening the army, not intervening the government and establishing a technocratic government with an alliance above sects."

Al-Sadr had hoped to form a coalition government with Vice-President Iyad Allawi’s Al-Wataniya bloc and Ammar al-Hakim’s National Wisdom Movement.

But the three blocs together do not have the 50-percent-plus-one majority (165 out of 329 seats in parliament) needed to form a governing coalition.

Last week, several Iraqi political parties reacted negatively after al-Sadr hinted at a possible alliance with the Iran-backed Fatah Coalition.

Some left-wing parties went so far as to say that they would throw in their lot with the opposition if such an alliance came to fruition.

However, Iraq’s two main Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, reportedly view the would-be alliance with Fatah in a positive light.

Although al-Sadr is a frequent critic of Iranian influence in Iraq, he nevertheless maintains close ties with Tehran.

For years, al-Sadr studied under Iranian clerics in the Iranian city of Qom, which has historically been a center of Shia religious scholarship.

Al-Sadr's Sairoon coalition dominated the May 12 poll, winning 54 parliamentary seats, according to official results.

Sairoon was followed by a Hashd al-Shaabi-linked coalition (47 seats) and Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi's Victory Bloc (42 seats).

Al-Hakim’s National Wisdom Movement, meanwhile, clinched 19 seats in the legislative assembly.</s>Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Saturday their political blocs would enter into an alliance, bringing Iraq one step closer to forming a new government after an election marred by low turnout and fraud allegations.

The alliance between Abadi’s Victory Alliance, which came third in a May parliamentary election, and Sadr’s Saeroon list, which won the largest number of seats, increases the chances of forming a government after weeks of political tensions.

“We announce a cross-sectarian, cross-ethnic alliance to speed up forming the next government and to agree on common points that guarantee the interests of the Iraqi people,” Sadr said at a news conference in the Shi’ite holy city of Najaf.

He called for a wider alliance consisting of all components of Iraqi society that would form an inclusive government.

Sadr presents himself as a non-sectarian nationalist opposed to both the United States and Iran’s influence over his country. Saeroon is an electoral alliance between Sadrist politicians, the Iraqi Communist Party, and other secular candidates.

Yet earlier in June Sadr went into an alliance with Hadi al-Amiri, a Shi’ite militia commander with close ties to Iran whose Fatih coalition came second in the election.

There was no immediate reaction from al Amiri’s camp, but the prime minister said his pact with Sadr would not compromise the cleric’s other alliance.

“I affirm that this alliance is not in contrast to any other alliances either of the two lists have previously entered into with other blocs, rather, it flows in the same direction and same principles,” said Abadi.

The top three winning blocs, all Shi’ite-led, have upwards of 140 seats between them. At least 165 seats are needed to form a government although traditionally the ruling bloc in parliament tends to be larger so as to include Sunni Arab and Kurdish lawmakers.

A coalition between Sadr, Amiri, and Abadi could see internal divisions. Abadi had balanced U.S. and Iranian interests during his term and was backed by the West. Sadr says he opposes both, and Amiri is Iran’s biggest Iraqi ally.

Despite coming in third, Abadi is hoping to win a second term as a compromise candidate for the premiership. Analysts and diplomats say he would be weakened and beholden to Sadr and Amiri even if he manages to stay on, however.

Abadi and Sadr both called on the leaders of other blocs to meet and “agree on the coming steps” in order to speed up the formation of an inclusive Iraqi government.

Political leaders in Iraq traditionally hold such meetings after elections as part of the lengthy and often complicated process of forming a coalition government, as no one party ever wins enough seats to form a government on its own.

The process is further complicated this time round because the next parliament is born of an election marred by historically low turnout and allegations of fraud.

The outgoing parliament has mandated a nationwide manual recount of votes and Iraq’s top court upheld that move, which faced legal challenges.

A fire at a storage site housing half of Baghdad’s ballot boxes had raised tensions. Security forces said it was deliberate and made arrests but said most ballots were saved. No party has been identified as responsible yet.

The recount will slow down the process as the new parliament and government cannot be formed until the results are officially ratified by Iraq’s Supreme Federal Court.

Political leaders need to meet soon in order to end that “crisis” and speed up the process, Abadi said.</s>BAGHDAD — Muqtada al-Sadr, the maverick Shiite cleric who emerged as the main winner in Iraq’s parliamentary elections last month, campaigned on a platform to end sectarian politics and replace it with a government that puts Iraqis first.

Instead, he has forged a postelection coalition with a rival Shiite bloc that includes some of the most powerful militias operating in Iraq — groups that get their funding and support from Tehran.

The deal underscores the active role Iran is taking in shaping the next government of Iraq, sending key military and spiritual advisers to revive a grand coalition of Shiite parties as a conduit for its influence in Baghdad. It also illustrates how Iran has gained sway over al-Sadr, who once called for booting foreign influence from Iraq.

Two Shiite politicians with inside knowledge of the party talks told The Associated Press that the new coalition between al-Sadr’s Sa’eroun bloc and Hadi al-Amiri’s Fatah bloc came on the heels of intensive Iranian lobbying, including visits by the influential Gen. Qassem Soleimani and the highly respected son of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who met with al-Sadr earlier this month.

They spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.

For Iraqi voters, after delivering what was supposed to be a pivotal election result that looked beyond religious affiliation, the coalition means a dispiriting return to business as usual.

“This coalition is a product of Iran’s desire to influence internal forces in Iraq,” said Wathiq al-Hashimi of the Iraqi Group for Strategic Studies. “But besides the Shiite National Alliance, there will be a Sunni alliance and a Kurdish alliance, and a return of sectarianism among all the armed blocs and factions… This is the most dangerous thing in Iraq right now.”

With no single party winning the majority of seats, the various blocs need to form coalition in order to name a new government.

On Saturday, al-Sadr struck a separate deal with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, another Shiite leader, whose bloc came third in the election. Al-Abadi had campaigned on a cross-sectarian platform and included Sunni politicians in his bloc. But the bulk of the winning candidates on his list were Shiites, and al-Abadi is the chairman of Islamic Dawa, a Shiite Islamist party that formed the core of the governing Shiite coalitions of 2006 and 2010.

The alignment paves the way for a return to sectarian-based government where Shiite parties come together to form a grand coalition which doubles as a patronage network that dispenses jobs to supporters.

Last month’s elections were Iraq’s fourth since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein. But voter turnout was the lowest in 15 years due to widespread anger at the dysfunctional political class. Allegations of widespread fraud and irregularities have further complicated the postelection scene, sparking calls for a recount and fresh elections.

Al-Sadr did not seek a seat himself, but Sa’eroun took 54 seats of the 329-seat body, followed by Fatah with 47.

The cleric, who once led a militia in the insurgency against American forces, directed mass protests in recent years that included calls to end foreign interference in Iraqi affairs. He would single out Iran and Iran-backed Shiite militias that were widely accused of human rights violations against Sunnis while fighting IS.

When the results were announced, his followers poured into Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, chanting: “Iran, out, out.”

But now it appears the 44-year-old leader, constrained by his slim margin of victory, has little choice but to cut deals with Iran-backed factions and other Shiite blocs. Al-Sadr’s coalition with the Fatah bloc gives them 101 seats in Parliament — still short of the 165 needed to name a new government — though with the remaining three Shiite blocs they would have 188.

“The reality after the elections is what motivated the alliance between Sa’eroun and Fatah as the two top winners with major seats,” said Jaafar al-Mousawi, a politician linked to al-Sadr.

The Iranian role was further highlighted by indirect discussions between al-Sadr and al-Amiri overseen by Tehran that lasted for ten days, said a third Shiite politician who took part in the discussions. After a five-hour meeting in al-Sadr’s house in Najaf on June 12, the two leaders announced their deal in a surprise press conference after midnight.

“Today’s announcement is a prelude for the National Alliance,” declared al-Amiri.

It followed a deadly blast in al-Sadr’s electoral stronghold in eastern Baghdad and a mysterious fire in warehouse believed to store ballots from the same area. No one has claimed responsibility for either incident.

It was just months ago that al-Sadr derided a short-lived alliance between al-Amiri and al-Abadi as “repugnant.” Now, he has joined in a coalition with both.

The new grouping is already rallying Iraq’s Sunni minority to close ranks and speak with one voice, said Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri, a Sunni.

“It will be a catalyst to expedite forming the new government, and it will spur others to arrange their papers ahead of formal discussions,” he said, referring to Sunnis and Kurds.

Al-Amiri, who spent more than two decades in Iran and enjoys close ties with its Revolutionary Guard, leads the powerful Badr Organization, one of the main state-sanctioned militias that fought the Islamic State group.

He is said to have his eyes on the position of prime minister.

A politician close to al-Abadi, who also requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media, said the “Iranian will” was behind the “alliance of the militias.” He added that Iran “has sent a message to America that it still has a major role and influence in Iraq.”</s>Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, whose political bloc came third in a May parliamentary election, met on Saturday with cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose bloc came first, in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, Abadi's office said.

NAJAF, Iraq: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Saturday their political blocs, which came in third and first place in a May parliamentary election respectively, would enter into an alliance.

The alliance between Abadi's Victory Alliance and Sadr's Saeroon will "cross sectarian and ethnic divisions", the leaders said at a news conference in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, where Sadr lives.

Earlier in June, Sadr and Hadi al-Amiri, a Shi'ite militia commander with close ties to Iran whose Fatih coalition came second in the election, had announced an alliance between their blocs.

It was not immediately clear if Saturday's announcement meant the top three blocs would now work together. Abadi and Sadr said their alliance "doesn't not mean the door is closed for the remaining blocs" to join them.

Political leaders in Iraq traditionally hold such meetings after elections as part of the lengthy and often complicated process of forming a coalition government, as no one party ever wins enough seats to form a government on its own.

The process is further complicated this time round because the next parliament is born of an election marred by historically low turnout and allegations of fraud. The outgoing parliament has mandated a nationwide manual recount of votes and Iraq's top court upheld that move, which faced legal challenges.</s>NAJAF, Iraq, June 23 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Saturday their political blocs would enter into an alliance, bringing Iraq one step closer to forming a new government after an election marred by low turnout and fraud allegations.

The alliance between Abadi's Victory Alliance, which came third in a May parliamentary election, and Sadr's Saeroon list, which won the largest number of seats, is the latest in a series of agreements between Iraqi political leaders.

"We announce a cross-sectarian, cross-ethnic alliance to speed up forming the next government and to agree on common points that guarantee the interests of the Iraqi people," Sadr said at a news conference in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf.

He called for a wider alliance consisting of all components of Iraqi society that would form an inclusive government.

Sadr presents himself as a non-sectarian nationalist opposed to both the United States and Iran's influence over his country. Saeroon is an electoral alliance between Sadrist politicians, the Iraqi Communist Party, and other secular candidates.

Yet earlier in June Sadr went into an alliance with Hadi al-Amiri, a Shi'ite militia commander with close ties to Iran whose Fatih coalition came second in the election.

That alliance will not be compromised by the new one with Abadi, the prime minister said.

"I affirm that this alliance is not in contrast to any other alliances either of the two lists have previously entered into with other blocs, rather, it flows in the same direction and same principles," said Abadi.

The top three winning blocs, all Shi'ite-led, have upwards of 140 seats between them. At least 165 seats are needed to form a government although traditionally the ruling bloc in parliament tends to be larger so as to include Sunni Arab and Kurdish lawmakers.

Abadi and Sadr both called on the leaders of other blocs to meet and "agree on the coming steps" in order to speed up the formation of an inclusive Iraqi government.

Political leaders in Iraq traditionally hold such meetings after elections as part of the lengthy and often complicated process of forming a coalition government, as no one party ever wins enough seats to form a government on its own.

The process is further complicated this time round because the next parliament is born of an election marred by historically low turnout and allegations of fraud.

The outgoing parliament has mandated a nationwide manual recount of votes and Iraq's top court upheld that move, which faced legal challenges.

Political leaders need to meet soon in order to end that "crisis" and speed up the process, Abadi said. (Reporting by Ahmed Saeed in Najaf; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein in Baghdad; Editing by Mark Potter)</s>Iraq’s outgoing Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr have said they have become political allies in an effort to form a new government in the wake of a widely discredited May elections. The announcement, made in the Shiite holy city of Najaf in a meeting between American ally Abadi and a long-time US foe Sadr on Saturday, came as a surprise to many political observers, the New York Times reported.

This was especially because Sadr-the top vote-getter-had already announced an alliance with a pro-Iranian Shiite leader, Hadi al-Ameri. Ameri was second in the polls, while Abadi was third. “This is a call for an alliance that is nonsectarian and rejects ethnic politics in order to include all of the Iraqi people,” Sadr said at a joint news conference with Abadi, who is still the Prime Minister until the new parliament sits on July 1 and elects his replacement. “We want to speed up the process of coming to a political agreement to send a positive message to the citizens that we are serious about moving forward,” Abadi said.

Sadr scored an upset victory as the leading vote-getter in the May 12 national parliamentary elections, which were marred by the lowest voter turnout since the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein. But no party won enough seats in parliament to govern without forming alliances with several of the many parties. The results were also contested on grounds of fraud, with the outgoing parliament ordering a manual recount of the votes, a decision upheld by Iraq’s highest court. It was unclear, however, whether the new parliament would carry out that decision, the New York Times report said.</s>NAJAF, Iraq, June 23 (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Saturday that their political blocs, which came in third and first place in a May parliamentary election respectively, would enter into an alliance.

The alliance between Abadi’s third-placed Victory Alliance and Sadr’s Saeroon which won the largest number of seats would cross sectarian and ethnic divisions, the leaders said at a news conference in the Shi’ite holy city of Najaf where Sadr lives.

Earlier in June, Sadr and second-placed Hadi al-Amiri, a Shi’ite militia commander with close ties to Iran, had announced an alliance between their blocs. It was not immediately clear if Saturday’s announcement meant the top three blocs had now entered into one larger alliance. (Reporting by Ahmed Saeed; writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; editing by Raya Jalabi)</s>Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, whose political bloc came third in a May parliamentary election, met on Saturday with cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose bloc came first, in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, Abadi's office said.

BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, whose political bloc came third in a May parliamentary election, met on Saturday with cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose bloc came first, in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, Abadi's office said.

It was the first meeting between the pair since Sadr and second-placed Hadi al-Amiri, a Shi'ite militia commander and Iran ally, announced an alliance between their blocs.

Political leaders in Iraq traditionally hold such meetings after elections as part of the lengthy and often complicated process of forming a coalition government, as no one party ever wins enough seats to form a government on its own.</s>Baghdad: Iraq's outgoing Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, a US ally, and radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a longtime foe of the United States, said on Saturday they had become political allies in an effort to form a new government in the wake of widely discredited elections.

The announcement, made in the Shiite holy city of Najaf in a meeting between the two leaders, came as a surprise to many political observers, especially because al-Sadr — the top vote-getter — had announced an alliance with a pro-Iranian Shiite leader, Hadi al-Amiri. Al-Amiri was second in the polls, while al-Abadi was third.

"This is a call for an alliance that is non-sectarian and rejects ethnic politics in order to include all of the Iraqi people," al-Sadr said at a joint news conference with al-Abadi, who is still the prime minister until the new parliament sits on July 1 and elects his replacement.

"We want to speed up the process of coming to a political agreement to send a positive message to the citizens that we are serious about moving forward," al-Abadi said.

Once a wanted man by US authorities during the occupation of Iraq, al-Sadr, a Shiite cleric and former militia leader, has remained a critic of the Americans while at the same time distancing himself from Iran and presenting himself as a nonsectarian figure. Despite al-Sadr's fiery anti-American rhetoric of the past, he has been quiet on that front since the election and in his speech in Najaf on Friday refrained from criticising the United States.
After a meeting in Najaf, Islamic Dawa Party leader Premier Haider al-Abadi and Shi'a Sadrist Movement leader Muqtada al-Sadr announce their parties' alliance. Together, they control 96 of 329 seats in Parliament.