Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for an “inclusive” government to be formed quickly, as he sounded out the heads of key Parliament factions over a coalition after his shock election win.
Mr. Sadr’s ‘Marching Towards Reform’ alliance scooped 54 seats in an upset at May 12 polls to become the biggest bloc in Iraq’s 329-seat Parliament.
In a bid to jump-start negotiations, Mr. Sadr, who militia battled American troops after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, met over the weekend with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, whose group finished third, and Hadi al-Ameri, whose bloc of pro-Iranian former fighters came second.
After the meetings, the cleric urged “the formation of an inclusive government as quickly as possible” and called for a “nationwide political decision”, his office said on Sunday.
