Five Iraqi parties to visit Kurdistan, seeking alliance with KDP and PUK

An official from the Hikma movement said on Friday that they will soon announce the biggest alliance with four other Iraqi parties, adding that they will visit Kurdistan Region to convince the region’s leading parties to join.

"The political majority project is in its last stage and Hikma, Sayirun, Nasr, Wataniya and the Iraqi Forces Union will together announce the biggest faction," Mohammed Jamil Mayahi, a member of Hikma Front's presidency, told Rudaw.

Hikma is headed by Ammar al-Hakim, an Iraqi cleric who is close to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

Their “high level” delegations will also try to incorporate Fatih alliance and the Turkmen Front, as well as the Christian parties which hold five seats in the parliament.

Iraq held parliamentary election on May 12, but the results were disputed by those political parties which gained fewer seats than they expected. A manual recount was conducted and its results were announced last week but no change occurred in the seats.

Iraqi Federal Court is expected to approve the final results of the election in the beginning of September.

KDP and PUK have said that they have reached an agreement to attend talks over the formation of Iraqi new cabinet as one team while Kurdish opposition parties refuse to go to Baghdad unless their demands are met. Collectively, the Kurdistani parties won as many seats as the top Shiite list of Muqtada al-Sadr.

President Masoud Barzani, the head of the KDP, noted the importance of Kurdish unity when in Baghdad during his party’s 72nd anniversary celebration on Thursday.

"We can have great achievements when we are united," said Barzani.

Signs of closer relations have emerged between the two parties following their success in the election. The KDP won 25 seats with the PUK winning 18.

"KDP and PUK have reached a good agreement to hold talks with Baghdad in a united way," added Barzani.