By Viola Fahmy
CAIRO (AA) – Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi held talks Monday with Iraqi Vice-President Iyad Allawi in Cairo amid a controversy over the results of last month’s parliamentary election in Iraq.
During the meeting, al-Sisi called for consolidating national unity in Iraq and renouncing sectarianism, according to a statement released by the Egyptian Presidency.
Talks between the two sides dwelt on the latest developments in Iraq and negotiations to form a new government in the country, the statement said.
Al-Sisi, the statement said, underlined “the importance of working to strengthen the cohesion of Iraqi society with a view to aborting all attempts aimed to ignite sedition”.
Allawi, for his part, underlined the importance of the “role played Iraqi institutions to defuse sectarian conflicts and eliminate extremism. ”
Official results of Iraq’s May 12 election have been dogged by controversy and allegations of vote-rigging — allegations dismissed by the leading coalitions.
Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Sairoon coalition dominated the polls, winning 54 parliamentary seats, according to official results. Sairoon was followed by a Hashd al-Shaabi-led coalition (47 seats) and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's Victory Bloc (42 seats).
