The outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi’s odds for a second term in office multiplied on Sunday with the National Security Council Adviser Falih Al Fayyadh announcing exiting the electoral race.
Fayyadh, who was enrolled by the Abadi-led Victory Alliance, said that Abadi is now exclusively the coalition’s nominee for prime minister in upcoming elections.
“All political blocs are anticipating results of the manual count and the ratification of final results of the May elections,” said Fayyadh in an overview of current tensions in Iraq.
Iraq's election commission completed on Monday a manual recount of votes from a parliamentary election held in May after the process was cut short in Baghdad, state television reported.
It had launched a manual recount of votes from a May parliamentary election clouded by allegations of fraud, a step towards the formation of a new parliament and government.
However, a fire that broke out in the warehouse where the votes were stored had made a complete recount impossible, leading the electoral commission to cancel it in the remaining half of the capital, the state broadcaster said.
The commission's leadership had been suspended and replaced with a panel of judges who oversaw the recount. It is expected to announce its results in the coming days.
Fayyadh added that Iraqi blocs are conducting a series of dialogues to form the largest parliamentary bloc, and hopefully get to successfully name the next Iraqi prime minister.
However, he said that talks did not achieve an agreement so far.
More so, Abadi received the support of a senior official in the Badr Organization political party. It is worth noting that Hadi Al-Amiri, Abadi’s top rival in upcoming elections and the spearhead of the Fatah Alliance, is the Badr Organization’s incumbent leader.
“Conditions set by the supreme religious authority, headed by Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, combined with 40 conditions set by the leader of the Sadrist movement Moqtada al-Sadr for the post of prime minister, have decreased Amiri’s chances and shored up Abadi's,” Badr Organization official Karim Al Nouri told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Iraqi politics is largely swayed by the opinions of top clerics and religious bodies. One of the Shiite prominent guides is Sistani.
Nouri believes that Abadi meets conditions of “determination, strength and courage” set by Sistani.
Further praising Abadi’s eligibility to re-emerge as prime minister for another term, Nouri said that the 66-year-old politician enjoys “regional and international approval,” making it difficult to replace him even with strong Shiite competitors such as Amiri running.
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