Baghdad, May 05: Iraq’s two big Shia political coalitions, one led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and one whose leaders have close ties to Iran, agreed on Tuesday on an alliance to form a single bloc in parliament, officials said.
But the two groups have not yet agreed on the contentious issue of a nominee for prime minister, the major stumbling block in talks so far, an official with Maliki’s State of Law said.
The announcement, nearly two months after a parliamentary election Iraqis hoped would bring stability after years of war, could signify a breakthrough in stalled negotiations to form the next government amid fears of renewed sectarian violence.
But the union of Maliki’s State of Law, which took 89 seats in the March 7 parliamentary election, and the Iraqi National Alliance which won 70, could also heighten tension.
State of Law, a mainly Shia bloc, finished second in the vote, two seats behind the cross-sectarian Iraqiya coalition headed by secularist former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who was supported strongly by minority Sunnis.
Allawi had warned that if the two major Shia blocs joined forces and tried to exclude his coalition from government, there could be a return to violence in Iraq, which was torn by sectarian bloodshed that killed tens of thousands in 2006-07.
Once-dominant Sunnis, marginalised after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, turned out in force for Allawi and could be angered if his coalition was shunted aside.
The two Shia blocs combined would have close to the 163 seats needed to form a government.
“The agreement was signed by representatives from both coalitions to form a parliamentary bloc … which will nominate the prime minister,” said State of Law official Haider al-Ebadi, who is also a member of Maliki’s Dawa Party.
Asked whether the issue of prime minister had been resolved, he said “No, not yet. The new bloc will nominate one candidate.”
-Agencies