Call for non-sectarian government in Iraq

UN envoy urges Iraqi leaders to listen to the people and seize the opportunity

The UN envoy for Iraq urged its political leaders on Wednesday to listen to the people and seize the opportunity to form “a patriotic, inclusive and non-sectarian national government” that will use the country’s vast resources including oil to benefit all Iraqis.

A new government can’t be formed until final results of May 12 parliamentary elections are announced.

Voting was marred by allegations of fraud and irregularities and a partial recount of ballots was ordered. It was completed on Monday but the election commission didn’t make the final results public.

UN special representative Jan Kubis told the Security Council that a new national government must prioritise a host of political, economic and social reforms as well as reconciliation and good governance including fighting corruption.

It must also create jobs, put all armed groups “under the strict control of the state,” and act against “insubordinate militias and criminal gangs,” and tackle inequality, he said.

Kubis said Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi “has made major efforts to provide swift and tailored responses to legitimate popular demands,” but the measures “remain insufficient to address the depth of people’s needs and concerns.”

The elections saw the lowest turnout in 15 years which Kubis said already delivered “a strong message of dissatisfaction with the current state of management of public affairs.”

“Although the scale of protest has now decreased,” he said, “demonstrations are far from over, including around major oil installations in Basra,” in southern Iraq.