Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of the Sairoon Coalition, winner of the 12 May parliamentary elections, has set a series of conditions to the PM in his election of ministers.

In a written statement the powerful Shia leader (who won the elections in a coalition with the Communist Party, which had 'end corruption' as its main slogan) Sadr said: “The Prime Minister has to maintain the ministries of defense and interior and all sensitive security posts in his own hand”.

Al-Sadr had already asked Abdul Mahdi not to nominate any officials from the Sairoon Coalition for any ministerial posts.

“We did not want any ministers from our side as it is going to be in the hands of the prime minister to nominate technocrat and independent persons - the clergy said - otherwise, we will have other reactions.”

Al-Sadr also warned that the new prime minister has a “one-year deadline” to implement reform or a popular uprising is on the agenda.