A number of leading Iraqi Sunni figures met on Monday in the residence of parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri to form a national bloc capable of confronting upcoming challenges, a statement from his office said.
Members of the Wataniya alliance, led by Vice President Ayad Allawi, attended the meeting, in addition to a number of deputies and political figures “wishing to strike joint agreements and deals,” said the statement.
Participants discussed the latest Iraqi developments, the results of the May 12 elections and allegations of vote fraud. They also tackled factors that may “help political blocs form a strong national government.”
In addition to Jabouri and Saleh Al-Mutlaq from the Wataniya alliance, the meeting was attended by Mohammed Tamim, an Arab Sunni lawmaker from Kirkuk, Ahmed Al Jubouri, member of the Tamadon (Civilized) alliance in Nineveh, Raed al-Dahlaki an MP from the National Iraqi Alliance, Qassem Al-Fahadawi, current Minister of Electricity and other Sunni figures.
The meeting was not attended by figures from al-Qarar Al-Iraqi Coalition, led by Iraqi Vice President Osama al-Nujaifi or Al-Hal (the Solution) alliance led by the brothers, Jamal and Mohammed al-Karbouli.
Head of the “Arab Project in Iraq”, Khamis Al Khanjar also did not attend.
Although the gatherers sought to give the meeting a national image, all the participants were Sunni political figures.
This confirmed views by some analysts that new political forces in Iraq are seeking to form a large Sunni bloc by allying with the Qarar (Decision) alliance, which won 13 seats, and al-Hal, which won around 10.
This united bloc would be able to negotiate with Shiite and Kurdish figures on the shape and nature of the next cabinet.
Other analysts predicted the collapse of the Wataniya alliance to the benefit of other Sunni leaderships, similar to what happened in 2010 with the Iraqiya coalition, headed by Allawi.
Sources close to Monday’s meeting told Asharq Al-Awsat that participants did not plan to form a large Sunni bloc.
According Hashem al-Haboubi, the deputy secretary general of the Iraqi National Accord movement, the new bloc would help strengthen the position of the Wataniya alliance and not the opposite.
