By Arthur MacMillan (AFP) – 4 hours ago
BAGHDAD — Iraq inched towards a new government Wednesday with power set to be vested once more in the hands of Shiite religious parties who have close ties to Iran, pushing Sunni-backed secularists to the margins.
A deal was struck late Tuesday between the war-torn country's two biggest Shiite Muslim alliances, allowing them to squeeze out a secular coalition that won a March 7 general election but failed to build a parliamentary majority.
The agreement, struck after two months of haggling that paralysed politics and alarmed the United States ahead of its planned military withdrawal from the country, was condemned by the secular bloc as "a sectarian merger."
Discussions about who will become prime minister are now under way between the Shiite parties, an official from incumbent Premier Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law bloc told AFP.
However, it is widely believed the price of the agreement between State of Law and the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) was a commitment that Maliki would not continue in his post.
There was no immediate reaction from the United States, which in the past week urged Iraq's politicians to set aside their differences and speed up the process of forming a coalition capable of running the country.
American combat troops are due to pull out of Iraq by September, ahead of a complete military withdrawal at the end of 2011, and the seating of a new government in Baghdad is key to Washington's exit strategy.
There was no comment either from ex-premier Iyad Allawi, head of the Iraqiya list, which took the greatest number of seats, 91, in the March 7 ballot, helped by support in Sunni areas where voters had boycotted previous polls.
Iraqiya spokeswoman Maysoon Damaluji, however, pointed the finger at Iran and labelled the alliance "a sectarian merger" that brought Iraq "back to square one".
"The Iraqiya list and the national project have been targeted and we feel that this merger was designed by regional powers," Damaluji told AFP.
Allawi now faces a fight for representation in government to stop his coalition becoming marginalised and to halt a surge of resentment among Sunni voters who could feel disenfranchised and shut out of politics once again.
The new Shiite coalition remains four seats short of the 163 needed to form a parliamentary majority but is still likely to take office.
According to full preliminary results from the election, State of Law won 89 seats in the 325-member Council of Representatives while the INA, led by Shiite religious groups, won 70 seats.
The Kurdish Alliance, made up of Iraq's autonomous northern region's two long-dominant blocs and holding 43 seats, has previously said it would join the coalition once the two main parties sorted out their differences.
The final number of seats gained by each party could yet change, however, as electoral authorities are conducting a recount of votes in the key Baghdad constituency, which accounts for 70 parliamentary berths.
In addition, nine election-winning candidates are awaiting a ruling on whether or not they will be allowed to take office. One winning candidate, from Iraqiya, has already been disqualified.
Negotiations between State of Law and the INA heated up in recent days after weeks of deadlock, with the two sides having principally disagreed over whether Maliki should remain in office.
Although Maliki won more votes than any single candidate, he is reviled by the Sadrist bloc of eponymous radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, the two main groups within the INA.
The statement announcing the new pact was read by Abdul Razzaq al-Kadhami, an adviser to INA candidate Ibrahim Jaafari, Maliki's predecessor as premier, in a symbolic move that hinted Jaafari could return to power.
"The most important thing is to form an Iraqi government, to establish a government programme and to nominate the next prime minister," said the statement, which was read out at Jaafari's residence in Baghdad.
pretty much a rehash of what we already know, but nothing about what Allawi is going to do. I am concerned about the Shiite's being in charge.
BAGHDAD — Iraq inched towards a new government Wednesday with power set to be vested once more in the hands of Shiite religious parties who have close ties to Iran, pushing Sunni-backed secularists to the margins.
A deal was struck late Tuesday between the war-torn country's two biggest Shiite Muslim alliances, allowing them to squeeze out a secular coalition that won a March 7 general election but failed to build a parliamentary majority.
The agreement, struck after two months of haggling that paralysed politics and alarmed the United States ahead of its planned military withdrawal from the country, was condemned by the secular bloc as "a sectarian merger."
Discussions about who will become prime minister are now under way between the Shiite parties, an official from incumbent Premier Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law bloc told AFP.
However, it is widely believed the price of the agreement between State of Law and the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) was a commitment that Maliki would not continue in his post.
There was no immediate reaction from the United States, which in the past week urged Iraq's politicians to set aside their differences and speed up the process of forming a coalition capable of running the country.
American combat troops are due to pull out of Iraq by September, ahead of a complete military withdrawal at the end of 2011, and the seating of a new government in Baghdad is key to Washington's exit strategy.
There was no comment either from ex-premier Iyad Allawi, head of the Iraqiya list, which took the greatest number of seats, 91, in the March 7 ballot, helped by support in Sunni areas where voters had boycotted previous polls.
Iraqiya spokeswoman Maysoon Damaluji, however, pointed the finger at Iran and labelled the alliance "a sectarian merger" that brought Iraq "back to square one".
"The Iraqiya list and the national project have been targeted and we feel that this merger was designed by regional powers," Damaluji told AFP.
Allawi now faces a fight for representation in government to stop his coalition becoming marginalised and to halt a surge of resentment among Sunni voters who could feel disenfranchised and shut out of politics once again.
The new Shiite coalition remains four seats short of the 163 needed to form a parliamentary majority but is still likely to take office.
According to full preliminary results from the election, State of Law won 89 seats in the 325-member Council of Representatives while the INA, led by Shiite religious groups, won 70 seats.
The Kurdish Alliance, made up of Iraq's autonomous northern region's two long-dominant blocs and holding 43 seats, has previously said it would join the coalition once the two main parties sorted out their differences.
The final number of seats gained by each party could yet change, however, as electoral authorities are conducting a recount of votes in the key Baghdad constituency, which accounts for 70 parliamentary berths.
In addition, nine election-winning candidates are awaiting a ruling on whether or not they will be allowed to take office. One winning candidate, from Iraqiya, has already been disqualified.
Negotiations between State of Law and the INA heated up in recent days after weeks of deadlock, with the two sides having principally disagreed over whether Maliki should remain in office.
Although Maliki won more votes than any single candidate, he is reviled by the Sadrist bloc of eponymous radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, the two main groups within the INA.
The statement announcing the new pact was read by Abdul Razzaq al-Kadhami, an adviser to INA candidate Ibrahim Jaafari, Maliki's predecessor as premier, in a symbolic move that hinted Jaafari could return to power.
"The most important thing is to form an Iraqi government, to establish a government programme and to nominate the next prime minister," said the statement, which was read out at Jaafari's residence in Baghdad.
pretty much a rehash of what we already know, but nothing about what Allawi is going to do. I am concerned about the Shiite's being in charge.