ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s next elected officials in Nineveh aim to present a unified front in parliament that represents the Sunni governorate, a member of the Taqadum Coalition told Rudaw on Tuesday. “We will try to unify the vision of Nineveh candidates this time so that we go to the Iraqi parliament as a strong Nineveh parliamentary lobby” with a single vision, Muzahim al-Khayat said at an interview with Rudaw’s Bestoon Khalid on the sidelines of the Middle East Research Institute (MERI) forum in Erbil. The coalition aspires and seeks to build an “institutional civil administration” in all its sectors in Nineveh, he added. Iraqis headed to the polls in an early vote on October 10. The election was held in response to Tishreen (October) 2019 protests complaining of corruption and ineptitude among the ruling class and political system. Turnout was a record-low 41 percent, reflecting voter disillusionment and mistrust in the country’s political system. The preliminary results handed unexpected victories and losses. Taqadum came a distant second place, a rare achievement for a Sunni party. The party, led by parliamentary speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, secured 37 seats. National security, political stability, and urban renaissance need to be achieved in Nineveh, Khayat said. Once the results are ratified by the Supreme Court, a process of forming the government will take motion, as dictated by the constitution. Within 15 days of the ratification of the results, the president will call for a parliamentary meeting chaired by its eldest member to elect a speaker and two deputies by an absolute majority. The parliament also elects a president by a two-thirds majority. The president will then task 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. “What is important is that the new prime minister is able to run a viable government that is capable of serving all the people of the province,” Khayat added noting that the prime minister’s mission is going to be a “great” and an “important” one.
