Shafaq News/ International partners are pressuring Iraq into easing internal friction and forming a government, a member of al-Fatah bloc in the parliament said on Monday.

Lawmaker Moeen al-Kadhimi told Shafaq News Agency that Iraqi political forces are under mounting pressure from international energy consumers to end the stalemate and form a new cabinet.

"Iraq is a main energy supplier. It exports 3.5 million barrels of oil a day," he said, "maintaining a steady output is a must, especially with winter around the corner."

In Iraq, government formation takes five and a half months on average, from election day to the swearing in of the prime minister and cabinet. But Iraq has yet to form a government after its last election, on Oct. 10, 2021. It is now one year since Iraqis went to the polls in the sixth parliamentary election since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The October 10 election was triggered by an earlier wave of mass protests against endemic corruption, rampant unemployment, and decaying infrastructure.

One year on, caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is left in charge but unable to have parliament pass a new state budget.

Rival Shiite Muslim factions in parliament have been vying for influence and the right to select a new prime minister and government in a standoff that has seen both sides set up protest camps and at times sparked deadly street clashes.

The political impasse pits the powerful cleric Moqtada Sadr, who has demanded snap elections, against the Iran-backed Coordination Framework, which has been pushing to appoint a new head of government before any new polls are held.

Iraq has raked in huge revenues from energy exports this year, and the central bank is holding a colossal $87 billion in foreign exchange reserves.

However, the money remains locked up because al-Kadhimi is not authorised to submit an annual state budget to parliament in his capacity as caretaker.