US-Sanctioned Power Broker Leads New Sunni Council in Iraq’s Post-Election Fight
Iraq’s main Sunni political blocs moved on Sunday to tighten their ranks, forming a new National Political Council in Baghdad to coordinate strategy in the next parliament as Shiite parties push ahead to shape the next government. The council was created at a meeting led by Khamis al-Khanjar, head of the Sovereignty (al-Siyada) Alliance, which captured a substantial share of seats in the Nov. 11 election.
Al-Khanjar is not just a power broker at home. In 2019, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control placed him under Global Magnitsky sanctions, accusing him of using his fortune to bribe officials and engage in large-scale corruption at the expense of the Iraqi public. The designation froze any assets under US jurisdiction and barred Americans from doing business with him.
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In a joint statement, the new Sunni council said it aims to “unify visions” and strengthen common action to safeguard constitutional rights and secure Sunni representation across state institutions. The body pledged to work with “all national partners” while insisting on principles that “preserve the rights of all components without exception.”
Since the 2003 US-led invasion, Iraq has operated under an informal sectarian power-sharing system: the presidency typically goes to a Kurd, the speakership of parliament to a Sunni Muslim, and the premiership to a Shiite Muslim. That arrangement has often turned post-election negotiations into drawn-out bargaining among sectarian and ethnic blocs.
By banding together under a single council, Sunni leaders hope to enter those talks with a unified position on the speakership, cabinet posts, and senior bureaucratic roles. Their leverage will depend on how firmly they hold that line against pressure from the Shiite Coordination Framework—which claims the largest bloc in parliament—and from regional and international players that continue to shape Iraq’s fractured politics.
