Iraqi political imbroglio drags on

Iraqi leaders have once again failed to establish a new government, meeting more than four months after the parliamentary polls.

The al-Iraqiya Alliance, led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, narrowly won the March 7 elections but failed to secure an absolute majority.

During a meeting in the parliament building on Monday, al-Iraqiya, the runner-up State of Law coalition of current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and key political figures from other parties unsuccessfully tried to break the impasse.

“The Iraqiya bloc is sure that the security deterioration is because of political disputes and we urge the political parties and officials to put their interests aside and serve their country,” said Ziad al-Thirib of the party, reading out a party statement.

Meanwhile, Kurdistan Alliance MP Sami Shoresh rejected the claims that the delay could affect the scheduled withdrawal of the US troops.

“The US troops are leaving Iraq and nothing will delay their withdrawal from the country,” he told Press TV.

Al-Iraqiya has 92 seats in the 325-member parliament and the State of Law coalition has 89 seats.

According to reports, the two coalitions have agreed to reinstate Maliki and have approved a ruling structure in which they would share about half of the posts in the new cabinet and give the remaining seats to other parties in proportionate representation to their election results.