Shiite cleric and leader Muqtada al-Sadr assigned a committee of four members, giving it has the “full power” in the matter of political and parliamentary alliances, according to an official document shared by Iraqi state media.
“We would like to inform all political parties that the negotiating committee represents us exclusively and no one has the right to interfere in its work,” the document quoted the cleric as saying.
Iraqis headed to the polls on Sunday in an early vote. Sadr claimed victory in the elections after the preliminary results were released by the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC). The results showed Sadr’s movement leading by a large margin, securing over 70 seats in the parliament.
The Sadrists are the main force in the formation of the new government that is expected to form after the Supreme Court ratifies the final results. The process will lay the foundations for the policies the government will pursue. Sadr has already started giving out promises to people.
According to Article 54 of the Iraqi constitution, when the election results are confirmed, it sets in motion a process for the winning parties to form a government. Within 15 days of the ratification of the results, the president calls on the parliament to meet, chaired by its eldest member, and elect a speaker and two deputies by an absolute majority. The parliament also elects a president from among candidates by a two-thirds majority.
The president then tasks the largest bloc in the parliament with forming the government, naming a prime minister within 15 days of the election of the president. The prime minister-elect then has 30 days to name a cabinet.
However, the electoral commission on Tuesday started to manually count the votes of over 8,000 polling stations that were not electronically counted, some because of technical issues. Confusion and debate erupted as the commission posted amended results.
The election was marred by a record-low turnout as voters and parties boycotted, citing concerns of fraud and disillusionment with the political system and politicians seen as corrupt.
Sadr led the largest bloc in the outgoing parliament. In the 2018 election, his Sairoon alliance, a coalition of Sadrists, the communist party, and some smaller groups, secured 54 seats.
