Iraq PM calls for meeting to address election fallout

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has urged political players to convene soon to address the political crisis that followed the parliament elections held last month, reiterating that constitutional means where the best to handle the situation.

In a statement by his office, Abadi said “ I extend an invitation to political blocs to hold a high-profile meeting after the end Eid al-Fitr feast, at a place to be named based on consultations to protect the homeland and citizens, ensure the soundness of the political process and democratic gains and to agree on specific mechanisms to hasten the formation of constitutional institutions in the best form possible”.

Eid al-Fitr follows the holy fasting month of Ramadan, and begins Friday through Tuesday.

Abadi urged a “unified stance” rejecting the manipulation of votes and to agree on “the next program to govern the country”.

Iraqi parliament elections have been surrounded with suspicions of forgery, with many parties objecting to the electronic counting system adopted for the first time in the country’s history, and demanding a manual recount.

The government has laid blame on the High Elections Commission that supervised the polls.

The parliament has also decided to replace the commission’s judges, with the High Judicial Council inducting new members on Monday.

According to official results of the elections held on May 12th, Abadi’s al-Nasr list came third. First came Saeroon list, sponsored by Shia leader, Muqtada al-Sadr, a populist seeking to break away from Iranian influence and scathingly opposed to foreign military presence in Iraq. Second came al-Fatah, an alliance of former leaders of the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces, the Shia-led troops that backed government forces campaign, under Abadi, to drive out Islamic State militants since 2014.