Iraq's Sadr teams up with Fatah alliance

BAGHDAD:- Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and head of the country's Badr Organization Hadi al-Amiri have announced a political alliance between their parties.

The announcement was made on Tuesday during a joint press conferences held in the Iraqi city of Najaf.

Sadr's Sairoon bloc won 54 out of 329 seats in the Iraqi parliament. The Fatah (Conquest) alliance, led by Badr Organization Secretary General Hadi al-Ameri, and Abadi's Nasr (Victory) coalition finished second and third with 47 and 42 seats, respectively.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says that he is opposed any rerun of the May 12 parliamentary election, and warned that those who try to disrupt the political process would be punished.

"The matter is exclusively in the hands of the judiciary, not politicians. The government and parliament don't have the power to cancel the election," he said.

On Sunday, the storage site housing ballot boxes from Iraq's May parliamentary elections caught fire ahead of a recount.

On Monday, Iraqi state television announced that three of the suspects are members of the country's police force while the other is a employee of the Independent High Elections Commission.

An Iraqi court orders the detention of four people over accusations of torching a warehouse holding ballot boxes form the country's recent parliamentary election.

On Wednesday, the Iraqi parliament has voted in favor of a manual recount of votes in the country's May 12 parliamentary elections.  

The announcement came a few days after Abadi ordered the creation of a high-powered commission to look into the alleged irregularities in the parliamentary elections.

An official statement said a recent cabinet meeting chaired by the premier had named the Iraqi anti-graft chief as the head of the commission.

The statement further suggested that hackers may have manipulated the election results.

At the time, Sadr rejected calls for an election rerun, warning Iraqis about breaking out of a possible "civil war." 

Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr rejects election rerun, warning of civil war after ballots burned.

"Stop fighting for seats, posts, gains, influence, power, and rulership," the 44-year-old cleric addressed the entire Iraqi nation in a statement published by his office on Monday, adding, "Is it now time to stand as one for building and reconstruction instead of burning ballot boxes or repeating elections just for one seat or two?"