Cleric Sadr backs Iraq protests, calls for delay in government formation

Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who's bloc came first, meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who's political bloc came third in a May parliamentary election, in Najaf, Iraq June 23, 2018. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose political bloc won Iraq's May 12 election, called on all politicians to delay efforts to form a new government until the demands of protesters seeking better services in the south are met.

"The winning political parties in the election have to suspend all political dialogues for forming coalitions and until they meet protesters’ rightful demands," Sadr tweeted, in his first public comments on unrest which has swept the south.