Sudani ally forecasts over 100 seats for Reconstruction and Development list

BAGHDAD — Mohammed Al-Ukaili, a member of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development list, said the coalition expects to win more than 100 seats in Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary election, positioning it to form a broad alliance in the next government.

In an interview with Zagros TV, Al-Ukaili dismissed the notion of lasting political rivalries in Iraq, stating, “In politics, there are no permanent hostilities or ongoing rivalries; today’s adversaries can be tomorrow’s allies.”

He said the list has already established coordination with over half of the Coordination Framework’s members in a push for “a more stable and balanced political process.”

Responding to rumors that Al-Sudani had previously agreed not to seek another term, Al-Ukaili said, “There is no document, agreement, or proposal supporting this claim.”

Excerpts from Mohammed Al-Ukaili’s interview with Zagros TV:

The Reconstruction and Development coalition is expected to win more than 100 seats, after which it will enter into an initial alliance with other blocs, followed by a final alliance within the national framework.

This will reduce the scope of the blocking third, meaning that more than two-thirds of parliamentary seats will fall under a single coalition within the national space.

The second point is that in politics, there are no permanent hostilities or ongoing rivalries; today’s adversaries can be tomorrow’s allies.

We have understandings and coordination with more than half of the members of the Coordination Framework, with a preliminary agreement that the political process should be more stable and balanced and should not take as long as it did in the past.

There are understandings beyond the Coordination Framework involving the Reconstruction and Development coalition, as well as with Kurdish and Sunni political forces.

Some blocs within the Coordination Framework are promoting the idea that the framework imposed a condition on Mr. Al-Sudani not to run in the elections when he assumed the premiership. There is no document, agreement, or proposal supporting this claim. There are no restrictions preventing Al-Sudani from participating in the elections, nor is there a general consensus among the framework’s leaders against granting him a second term. Whoever claims otherwise should present a document to prove it!