Iraqi official denies report of governorate council meeting

Shafaq News/ A member of the new Wasit provincial council, Rahman Aliwi, on Sunday denied media reports claiming that the council would meet tomorrow amid talks about a power-sharing deal involving a former prime minister of Iraq.

Aliwi told Shafaq News Agency that "reports about a Wasit provincial council meeting on Monday are not true. In fact, the invitation was for Governor Mohammed Al-Mayahi to take the constitutional oath before the president of the Federal Court of Wasit at 9:00 am."

Meanwhile, a source close to the Coordination Framework told Shafaq News Agency that "the future of the local government formation in Wasit is likely to be divided between the "Wasit Ajmal" bloc led by the current governor, Mohammed al-Mayahi, and the State of Law Coalition led by Nouri al-Maliki."

The source added that "the position of governor will be from the share of state law, while the presidency of the provincial council will be from the share of the Wasit Ajmal bloc."