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| Iraq |
| Abadi Ready to Cooperate in Forming New Iraqi Govt. |
| 2018-05-16 |
| [AAWSAT] Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced that he was ready to cooperate in forming the “strongest government” for the country as Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was tipped on Tuesday to win the weekend’s parliamentary elections. His shock victory will deal a blow to Iranian and American influence in Iraq. Triumph for the veteran nationalist's Marching Towards Reform alliance with Iraq's communists -- pitched an anti-corruption outsider force -- would be a slap in the face for Iraq's ruling establishment. Sadr -- who has ruled himself out of becoming prime minister -- looks likely to be the key powerbroker and has already mooted a technocrat government of some dozen parties that bridge sectarian divides. Counting was still ongoing three days after the first parliamentary poll since the defeat of the ISIS organization, but Sadr’s grouping was in the lead with 16 of 18 provinces tallied. But with his group set to be far from a majority in parliament, wrangling over any potential coalition should take months -- and there remain major obstacles ahead that could thwart Sadr's ambitions. |
| Posted by:Fred |