Disagreements arise ahead of provincial elections
Shafaq News / Nasr coalition, led by Haider al-Abadi, revealed on Sunday the existence of disagreements within the coordination framework regarding the anticipated political alliances to participate in the upcoming provincial council elections scheduled to take place at the end of this year.
Aqeel al-Rudaini, a leader in the coalition, told Shafaq News Agency, "The coordination framework is not a single political bloc and does not have a unified internal system. It was established for the purpose of exchanging opinions in the political process with its positives and negatives."
He explained, "The new electoral law (Sainte-Laguë) serves the interests of major political forces, but there are political forces within the coordination framework that wish to participate in the elections independently. There is also an opinion that a political alliance should be formed, bringing together all the forces within the coordination framework. And there is a third opinion that the forces within the coordination framework should form multiple alliances."
He added, "Until now, the forces within the coordination framework have not finalized their decisions regarding the political alliances for participating in the provincial council elections. There are differences in perspectives, and in the coming period, this issue might be resolved among the forces within the coordination framework."
Yesterday, a well-informed source reported internal disagreements within the coordination framework due to the timing of the provincial council elections. The source told Shafaq News Agency that there is a proposal to postpone the elections to April 2024 in order to push and convince the Sadr Movement to participate in the elections.
The source further stated that forces within the framework, including the State of Law Coalition and the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq Movement, reject postponing the elections and insist on holding them at the end of the current year, even if boycotted by the Sadr Movement.
The Iraqi Council of Representatives voted in March of last year to hold the provincial council elections on the dates of 6th to 11th November 2023.
