While the initial results of the early Iraqi elections produced different scenarios for the upcoming political alliances, observers and political analysts expect the Kurdish forces to have a key role in forming the next government if they unite under one bloc in Baghdad.
The most foreseeable scenario, however, is the alliance of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) with the Sadr Movement and the Progress Coalition led by Mohammad al-Halbousi.
Sources close to the Sadrist movement noted that the Democratic Party was the closest to be an ally, while a representative of the KDP stressed that there were no red lines in future coalitions.
Hoshyar Zebari, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, announced that the party has begun its consultations with the Iraqi political forces to form the next government.
In a news conference on Tuesday, he said that the KDP started deliberations with most of the Iraqi political parties that made gains in the elections, adding that he would soon dispatch a delegation to Baghdad to discuss naming the top three positions and forming the new federal government.
“In parallel, the KDP will review with the Kurdish parties the possibility of working as one team in Baghdad,” he said.
Writer and Political Analyst Hiwa Othman told Asharq Al-Awsat that Kurdish forces may once again create the necessary balance “if the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the New Generation Movement and the Progress Coalition agree to work as one team in Baghdad in the negotiations to form the next government.”
Writer and academic Haval Zakhoyi said he believed that the alliance between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Sadr bloc was the closest to reality.
“The post-election period is the stage of searching for alliances and parliamentary blocs to form the next government,” he remarked. “I believe that the Kurdish political parties and forces must negotiate urgently and seriously to reach a formula that unites them in order to form an alliance with Shiite and Sunni blocs, with whom they share converging visions.”
For his part, the winning candidate for the KPD, Majid Shamkali, told Asharq Al-Awsat that his party did not have vetos on any figure or political bloc.
“Our alliances will be based on a consensus of visions and programs that take into consideration constitutional and legal benefits,” he stated.
