Sadrists say ready to mediate between Hadbaa, Ninewa Fraternal lists

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: A Sadrist parliamentarian on Wednesday expressed his bloc’s readiness to mediate between the Hadbaa and the Ninewa Fraternal lists to put an end to the escalating tension over the formation of the local council in Mosul city. “Sadrists are currently trying to reconcile points of view in an attempt to reach a solution to the crisis,” MP Falah Shanshal said in a statement that was received by IraqiNews.com news agency. Members of the Ninewa Fraternal List said that they would boycott provincial council meetings, citing al-Hadbaa’s obtaining of all key positions in the province. On April 12, al-Hadbaa List distributed all key positions in Ninewa’s provincial council among its representatives, who secured 25 votes. The final results of the Ninewa provincial council elections, held on January 31, 2009, saw al-Hadbaa list winning 19 seats, followed by the Ninewa Fraternal list with 12 seats and the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) of Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi three seats as well as one seat for each of the Christians, the Shabaks and Yazidis. SS (P)/SR 1