Iraq's Turkmen allied with Al-Sadr to form government majority

The Iraqi Turkmen Front has declared that it has joined the Reform and Reconstruction Coalition, supported by Shiite leader Muqtada Al-Sadr. The Front said in a statement on Thursday: “We announce that we have officially joined the Reform and Reconstruction bloc.”

It explained that “the General Assembly of the bloc of Reform and Reconstruction will support the Turkmen as a key component, and they will have a prominent role in the next government, in addition to getting their full rights in it.”

The Turkmen Front entered the parliamentary elections which took place last May, within the Iraqi Turkmen Front in Kirkuk Coalition, which won three parliamentary seats out of 329 seats.

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Two major movements are competing to form the largest parliamentary bloc that will be charged with forming the new government. The first movement is The Reform and Reconstruction Coalition, led by the Saeroon bloc supported by the leader of the Sadrist Movement, Muqtada Al-Sadr (ranked first in the elections with 54 seats out of 329), and Victory Alliance led by Al-Abadi (third place with 42 seats).

The second movement is the Construction coalition, led by two prominent blocs, which are Fatah coalition led by Hadi Al-Amiri (second place, 48 seats), and the State of Law Coalition, led by Nouri Al-Maliki (fourth place, 26 seats).