Explainer: How Sadr's Shiite rivals became largest bloc in Iraq's parliament
Many of the new members of the Council of Representatives taking the place of the 73 Sadrists who resigned are aligned with Iran.
Following the resignation of all 73 members of the Sadrist group in the Iraqi parliament on Jun. 12, the vacant seats were granted to the second winners today, making the Coordination Framework of Shiite parties, the Sadrist's rivals, the largest bloc in the parliament.
The majority of the second winners took the oath today in the parliament.
Last October's elections led to a remarkable victory for Sadrists, making them the largest bloc in the parliament. The Sadrists went to an alliance with the Sunnis' Taqaddoum coalition led by the parliament speaker, Muhammad Halbousi with 62 seats and the Kurdistan Democratic Party led by Masoud Barzani with 31 seats.
However, the alliance was not able to form the government due to lack of two-thirds of the parliament which is required for selecting the president. This occurred after the Iran-backed militias and groups were able to form a blocking third against the triple alliance.
