Iraq's two main Shi'ite blocs discuss merger

[Bumper64]

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's two main Shi'ite political blocs, one led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and another whose leaders have close ties to Iran, are discussing a merger that could widen Iraq's sectarian divide.

A union between Maliki's State of Law and the Iraqi National Alliance, two of the top three vote-getters in Iraq's March 7 parliamentary election, could sideline secularist former premier Iyad Allawi, whose cross-sectarian Iraqiya coalition won strong support from minority Sunnis.

A merger could also push aside Maliki, who wants another term at the helm. One of INA's major components, the Sadrist movement of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, was the top vote-getter for INA and has poor relations with the premier.

The makeup of the next government is being watched closely by Washington, which plans to formally end combat operations in Iraq by September 1, and by global oil companies that have signed multibillion-dollar contracts to develop Iraq's oilfields.

"There has been more than one meeting with INA to reach a deal to form an alliance or merge both coalitions," Sami al-Askari, a prominent member of Maliki's State of Law, told Reuters shortly after another leading member of the bloc issued a public statement saying the two needed to merge.

State of Law is running in a virtual dead heat with Allawi's coalition. None of the leading blocs is expected to win enough seats to form a government alone and talks between parties and coalitions about potential alliances are in full swing.

The final preliminary vote count is scheduled to be released on Friday, nearly three weeks after the election.

Allawi's Iraqiya drew strong support from Iraq's minority Sunni population and analysts have said any attempt to exclude Iraqiya from the government could anger Sunnis marginalised after the 2003 U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Continued...

http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE62M3BV20100323

[k98nights]

Thanks Bump!