Save the Homeland will present an alternative if independents fail to form government: KDP spox

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The tripartite alliance consisting of the Sadrist bloc, the Sunni Sovereignty Alliance, and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) will present an alternative if the Iraqi parliament’s independent MPs fail to capitalize on Muqtada al-Sadr’s initiative to form the country’s next government, the KDP’s spokesperson told Rudaw on Tuesday without elucidating on the plan.

A delegation of the tripartite alliance, also known as the Save the Homeland Alliance, arrived in the Kurdistan Region’s capital on Monday to discuss the latest developments in Iraq’s political deadlock with KDP leader Masoud Barzani, as well as discussing the leader of the Sadrist bloc’s latest initiative.

Sadr on Wednesday called on the parliament’s independent MPs to form a new government without Sadrist ministers in 15 days, after declaring that the Coordination Framework had failed to capitalize on their 40-day window to form a government without his bloc.

Mahmood Mohammed, the spokesperson for the KDP, told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman on Tuesday that they are currently waiting for the MPs to respond to the initiative, and that it was “their [the MPs’] window to work.” Despite the fact that the statement was released through Sadr’s Twitter page, the KDP spokesperson confirmed that all parties in the Save the Homeland were consulted and all aspects of the initiative were considered before releasing it to the public.

Following Monday’s meeting in Erbil, the alliance released a statement saying that they were “open to any political forces that believe in a national majority government,” and that they have been in continuous communication with the parliament’s independent MPs since the announcement of Sadr’s initiative.

Mohammed stated that in case the independent MPs were to fail in forming the government, the tripartite alliance will present an alternative plan to end the political deadlock in Iraq.

“Of course we have prepared ourselves for that [the MPs failing], and what to do to end the political deadlock. The statement talks about an opening; I will not address that plan now, because once the first plan is done and has failed, then we will present plan number two,” Mohammed said.

According to the spokesperson, the independent MPs’ candidate for Iraq’s presidency must be one of the 33 people that were previously approved by the parliament as the door for applications has closed, and no new candidates can be presented.

The Council of Representatives presented another opportunity for political parties to field candidates for Iraq’s presidency in February. The legislature said that 59 people had submitted applications to the position but only 33 were approved, adding that it rejected the rest as they did not meet certain conditions such as lacking political background and university degrees, with one candidate failing to meet the age requirement.

Mohammed added that even if the independent MPs were to present a candidate that was neither the KDP candidate nor the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) candidate, their suggestions must be supported as they are the ones who “have been given the authority.”

The Coordination Framework released an 18-points initiative on Wednesday, calling on the independent MPs to present their candidates for the prime minister position.

The Iran-backed Coordination Framework and their allies insist on a new government being set up based on political consensus; an idea which has been repeatedly opposed by the tripartite alliance, also known as the Save the Homeland Alliance, who are attempting to form a national majority government.

Tuesday marks seven months since Iraq’s early elections in October, yet the country’s politicians have been unable to form a new government. The Iraqi parliament has so far failed on three separate occasions to vote on the president of the country, due to not reaching the legal quorum needed to hold the vote.