22 May 2018•Update: 23 May 2018
By Ali Jawad and Ahmed Qassem
BAGHDAD, NINEVEH, Iraq
Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi on Tuesday said an agreement had been reached between his al-Nasr coalition and influential Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr-led coalition on forming a government.
Addressing a news conference in the capital Baghdad, al-Abadi ruled out any possibility of a re-election over complaints of rigging.
He called on all the political blocs to "adhere to the constitutional deadlines of the formation of government".
According to Iraqi law, the parliament should convene within 15 days of the election results.
Al-Sadr's coalition won the most votes in the first post-Daesh polls in the country on May 12. However, this in itself will not guarantee that the cleric will be able to pick a prime minister.
Lengthy negotiations will follow and all winning blocs will have to agree on the nomination.
Separately, a demonstration was staged in Sunni-majority northern Nineveh province to protest against the annulment of their vote by the Independent High Electoral Commission.
The protesters demanded fresh polls alleging massive rigging.
About one million people have fled their homes in Nineveh province during the war against Daesh terrorist organization. The Iraqi government says about half of them have returned to their homes while the rest still live in several camps scattered across the country.
Final results were announced several days after Iraqis voted in the country’s first parliamentary poll since the Daesh terrorist group was defeated late last year.
Preliminary results had been announced days earlier, but widespread fraud allegations had reportedly delayed a final vote count.
