Electoral alliances in Iraq were shuffled on Monday after the Victory list alliance collapsed overnight. The coalition was reached on Sunday between Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi and leading factions of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
The prime minister did not announce his position regarding the decision of PMF’s al-Fath (Conquest) coalition to withdraw from his list.
However, a source close to Abadi said that the prime minister earlier decided that the Victory alliance should be non-sectarian and not restricted to quotas, adding that those who withdrew from the coalition had refused those two conditions.
A source close to negotiations held between Abadi and PMF leaders told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Parties who signed an electoral pact with the PM were later surprised by his alliance with Ammar al-Hakim, saying that this move further complicated matters.”
On Sunday, the premier announced the signing of an electoral pact with a leading faction from the PMF and leader of the Badr Organization, Hadi al-Ameri, for May’s national elections.
Later, the Hikma Movement headed by Ammar al-Hakim said it was joining the Abadi-Ameri alliance under the Victory list.
The sources predicted that the PMF would return to their former ally, head of the "State of Law" bloc, Nouri al-Maliki.
Meanwhile, observers assumed that parliament Speaker Salim al-Jubouri, currently allied with vice president of the Iraqi National list Ayad Allawi, might join the Abadi alliance.
Several political forces had previously expressed their disappointment with the electoral alliance signed between Abadi and the PMF.
MP Ahmed al-Jabouri told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Political forces that supported Abadi in his battle against ISIS did not expect him to return to the arms of sectarianism.”
