SULAIMANI (ESTA) — A joint delegation from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) met with the Sadrist Movement led by Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Baghdad on Friday.
The PUK and KDP delegation led by Imad Ahmed visited Baghdad on Friday to discuss the formation of a new government with the Iraqi parties.
The delegation held its first meeting with the political board of the Sadrist Movement in Baghdad.
The two sides discussed normalizing “the situation between the parties and sharing views to hold the first meeting of the parliament on Sunday,” according to the meeting’s statement.
On December 30, Iraqi President Barham Salih issued a decree that convenes new parliament for January 9, following the approval of final results by the federal court.
Lawmakers will elect a parliamentary speaker and two deputies in their first session. They will later elect a new president who will task the leader of the largest bloc to form a government as prime minister.
The main winner of the election was Sadr, a populist who has positioned himself as a staunch opponent of both Iran and the United States.
Sadr’s bloc, already the biggest in the 329-seat parliament, will expand to 73 seats from 54. Its main rivals for years, the Fatah bloc of factions linked to pro-Tehran militia, meanwhile, saw its parliamentary representation collapse to just 17 seats from 48.
The Taqqadum Party, which draws support from minority Sunni Muslims, won 37 seats, according to the final results.
Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Alliance won 33 seats, the results showed.
Because no coalition won a majority, Shia, Sunni and Kurdish coalitions have been jockeying for position in the new government.
