Shafaq News/ The head of the State Forces Alliance, Ammar al-Hakeem, urged the Kurds to settle their disputes over the republic's presidency to expedite the formation of the government and resolution of the political impasse in Iraq.

In a sermon he delivered before a crowd of his supporters in Baghdad on the first day of Eid al-Adha, al-Hakim laid emphasis on endorsing "positive opposition" inside the Iraqi legislative body.

"The parliamentary system shall be upheld from within via two pathways: the first forms the government, and the other observes and rectifies its work," he said.

Al-Hakim added that involving all the parties in the government undermines the political process in the country, calling for an expedient formation of a cabinet that offers services and copes with the economic, environmental, and social challenges.

"The withdrawal of the Sadrist movement is a challenge to the upcoming government. It does not necessarily mean that they left the political scene. The Sadrist movement represents a huge part of our people," he continued.

"We urge our siblings in the [Kurdistan] region to settle the issue of the republic's president as soon as possible," he continued, "[the presidency] is not an entitlement for a single community. It belongs to all the Iraqis. It is a guarantee of their unity and a safeguard of Iraq and the constitution."

Earlier today, the leader of the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq movement, Qais al-Khazali, said that the Kurdish disagreement over the republic's presidency is the major hurdle to ending the political deadlock in the country.

The Shiite cleric said that selecting a new president of the republic is "the only challenge to the formation of the government", urging the Kurdish parties to "agree upon a single candidate because we are not going to wait for so long."

Al-Khazali said the Kurdish-Kurdish conflict is more profound than the infight between the Shiite parties in Iraq.

"The Coordination Framework endorses the unity of the Kurdish parties and their agreement on a single candidate for the presidency. There are two solutions: you can agree on whoever you want, and we would not have any problem... or you can agree on a process to put forth your candidates, and whoever gets more votes wins."

"There is no major issue with naming a prime minister-designate. Of course, there are disagreements inside the Coordination Framework, but they do not tantamount to a major issue."