Al-Wataniya chief Alawi meets Masoud Barzani for gov't building talks
“The past Iraqi political experience and the post-2003 period which brought Iraq to profound political, security, and economic crises were discussed,” according to a readout following the meeting.
“The [Al-Wataniya] delegation expressed their concerns over the challenges and difficulties of the current political process in Iraq.”
The KDP and the Al-Wataniya delegation discussed the creation of a parliamentary bloc capable of forming the next government.
“The meeting stressed the significance of complying with the principles of a genuine partnership, consensus, and balance,” the statement added.
Allawi, who lived in exile in Britain for almost 30 years, was interim prime minister of Iraq, 2004-2005. He has held the vice presidency twice, once from 2014 to 2015 and again from 2016 to present. His party, Iraqi National Accord, is today part of the Sunni Al-Wataniya coalition.
Al-Wataniya, Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sayirun, incumbent Haider al-Abadi’s Nasr (Victory) Coalition, and the Hikma Front of Ammar al-Hakim have formed a coalition in a bid to create the largest bloc in parliament.
Delegations from all four party lists were in the Kurdistan Region last week seeking the support of Kurdish parties.
At the same time, the newly founded Sunni National Axis Alliance paid a visit to Sulaimani, meeting with officials from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and opposition parties that have disputed the outcome of the May 12 election.
September 3 is the deadline, set by the Iraqi Federal Court, for the new parliament to convene.
Rudaw
