BAGHDAD -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced on Saturday a political coalition amid talks to form a new government after national elections last month.
Al-Sadr's political bloc won the largest share of seats in May parliamentary elections. He has already joined in a coalition with the second-place bloc led by Hadi al-Amiri, a Shiite militia leader who enjoys the support of Iran. Al-Abadi's bloc came in third in the polls.
Al-Sadr, a populist cleric who led a militia during the insurgency against American forces, promised voters he would form a technocratic government that would transcend sectarian politics.
But the twin coalitions with al-Amiri and al-Abadi, who is also a Shiite leader, point to a return to a grand Shiite coalition.
Al-Sadr and al-Abadi announced their new alignment at a news conference Saturday, without making explicit mention of the coalition with al-Amiri. But al-Abadi said the coalition with al-Sadr was "in harmony" with existing alignments.
A Section on 06/24/2018