Al Maliki says national partnership needed

Baghdad: Iraq's incumbent Shiite prime minister said the next government to be formed after an inconclusive election in March had to include the Sunni-backed coalition that won the most seats.

Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, who is seeking a second term, said on Friday it was too early for Iraq to be run by a majority government and a "national partnership government" was needed to ensure stability after years of war.

That meant the next government would be weak due to its subservience to conflicting interests, he said.

"I had wished that the [next] government would be formed on the basis of a political majority, leaving behind the quota-based system, but it seems that idea is still premature," Al Maliki told the US-funded Al Hurra television network.

"The thing we have to accept is that there must be a national partnership government. A national partnership government means all main factions making up the Iraqi community are represented in it." Al Maliki's Shiite-led State of Law alliance came second in the March 7 vote with 89 seats in the 325-seat parliament.

The cross-sectarian Iraqiya bloc led by former prime minister Eyad Allawi won the most seats at 91 after gaining broad backing from minority Sunnis.

The results still need to be certified, a process that could yet take weeks. In the meantime, Al Maliki's bloc and Iraq's other main Shiite-dominated coalition, the Iraqi National Alliance (INA), have been inching toward a tie-up that could sideline Allawi, a secular Shiite.

"The Iraqiya bloc represents most Sunni Arabs, therefore they must be partners in forming the government because this element must be represented," Al Maliki said.

"An alliance to form the government that only consists of two blocs and which excludes other blocs will destroy the political process and national unity," Al Maliki said.