Iraqi Shia parliamentary bloc elects new leader

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD

The National Alliance, an Iraqi Shia parliamentary bloc, has elected Ammar al-Hakim as its leader following a two-year leadership dispute, according to informed sources.

"National Alliance leaders voted unanimously Sunday night to appoint Ammar al-Hakim as alliance president," a source close to Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a former alliance head, told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity due to the issue’s sensitivity.

The largest bloc in parliament, the National Alliance controls roughly 180 of the assembly’s 328 seats and is therefore responsible for naming the prime minister.

Its main components are the State of Law coalition led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki; the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), an Iranian-backed political party led by al-Hakim; the Ahrar Bloc led by prominent Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr; and the National Reform Trend led by al-Jaafari, Iraq’s current foreign minister and a previous National Alliance leader.

In a Monday statement, the ISCI confirmed that al-Hakim had been chosen to head up the National Alliance, which over the last two years has been riven by difference between the State of Law coalition and al-Sadr’s Ahrar Bloc.

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD

The National Alliance, an Iraqi Shia parliamentary bloc, has elected Ammar al-Hakim as its leader following a two-year leadership dispute, according to informed sources.

The largest bloc in parliament, the National Alliance controls roughly 180 of the assembly’s 328 seats and is therefore responsible for naming the prime minister.