Al-Sadr arrives in Baghdad

Shafaq News / The head of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, arrived in Baghdad today to discuss forming the new government, a political source reported.

The source told Shafaq News agency that al-Sadr will meet Iraqi political parties, including the Coordination Framework,

Al-Sadr's visit comes hours after the Framework's warning of boycotting the new government in case the policy of "excluding" political forces was adopted.

The leader of the Sadrist movement blames the head of the state of law coalition, Nouri al-Maliki, who headed two consecutive governments (2006-2016) for all the corruption, violence, and even ISIS's invasion of Iraq in 2014.

al-Sadr has said he will ally himself with whoever puts Iraq's national interests first. That is an indication, Iraqi officials and Western diplomats say, that he may exclude some Iran-backed Shiite blocs in favor of parties with cross-sectarian support.

The Sadrist bloc emerged as the clear winner with 73 seats in the 329-seat parliament. Al-Takaddom party, one of two main Sunni political groups and led by the speaker of the outgoing parliament Mohammed al-Halboosi, followed with 37 seats. Former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law bloc came third with 33 seats.

The Iran-backed al-Fatah Alliance, won only 17 seats, compared with 45 in 2018.