KDP, Sunni alliance reaffirm association with Sadrists

Julian Bechocha

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) along with the Sunni Sovereignty Alliance expressed their desire to stick alongside the Sadrist bloc on Friday, amid months of political turmoil as Iraq's parliamentary factions have thrice failed to elect a new president and pave the way for government formation.

The two components said that they "value the position" of prominent Shiite cleric and leader of the Sadrist Movement Muqtada al-Sadr in "expediting the formation of a strong government that works to address the complex issues facing the Iraqi people" in a joint statement, while confirming their adherence to the partnership with the Sadrist bloc.

Their statement further declared that "a strong government cannot be born without their partnership."

The tripartite alliance of the Sadrists, KDP, and the Sovereignty Alliance make up the recently-announced Save the Homeland Alliance, which won over 150 parliamentary seats in the October elections.

The alliance's nominees for president and prime minister are KDP's Reber Ahmed and Sadr's cousin Mohammed Jaafar al-Sadr respectively, but they have thus far failed on two occasions in obtaining the required quorum for a session to vote for Ahmed, who, once elected, can task Jaafar to form a government.

Sadr on Thursday announced that he is stepping back from the government formation process for a month, and giving his rivals in the contest to form Iraq's next government an "opportunity" to form a government without the participation of his bloc.

A pro-Iran Shiite alliance, the Coordination Framework, is the tripartite alliance's rival in the government formation process. They oppose the idea of a national majority government, instead wanting a government based on political consensus.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), backing incumbent Barham Salih for the presidency, has joined the Coordination Framework along with a host of other parties, repeatedly boycotting parliamentary sessions to elect Iraq's next president.