Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi listens to remarks to reporters by US President Barack Obama after their bilateral meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington April 14, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

Baghdad- Hamza Mustafa

Outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi’s odds of a second term in office multiplied on Sunday with the National Security Council Adviser Falih Al Fayyadh announcing his withdrawal from the electoral race.

Fayyadh, who was nominated by the Abadi-led Victory Alliance, said that the premier is now exclusively the coalition’s nominee for prime minister.

“All political blocs are anticipating results of the manual recount and the ratification of final results of the May elections,” commented Fayyadh on the current tensions in Iraq.

Iraq's election commission completed on Monday the recount of votes after the process was cut short in Baghdad, state television reported.

It had launched a manual recount after the elections were clouded by allegations of fraud.

However, a fire that broke out in the warehouse where the votes were stored had made a complete recount impossible, leading the electoral commission to cancel it in the remaining half of the capital, the state broadcaster said.

The commission's leadership had been suspended and replaced with a panel of judges who oversaw the recount. It is expected to announce its results in the coming days.

Fayyadh added that Iraqi blocs are conducting a series of talks to form the largest parliamentary bloc, and hopefully, get to successfully name the next Iraqi prime minister.

However, he said that talks did not achieve an agreement so far.

More so, Abadi received the support of a senior official in the Badr Organization political party. Hadi Al-Ameri, Abadi’s top rival for the position of premier and the spearhead of the Fatah Alliance, is the Badr Organization’s incumbent leader.

“Conditions set by the supreme religious authority, headed by Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, combined with 40 conditions set by the leader of the Sadrist movement Moqtada al-Sadr for the post of prime minister, have decreased Ameri’s chances and shored up Abadi's,” Badr Organization official Karim Al Nouri told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Iraqi politics is largely swayed by the opinions of top clerics and religious bodies. One of the Shiite prominent guides is Sistani.

Nouri believes that Abadi meets conditions of “determination, strength and courage” set by Sistani.

Further praising Abadi’s eligibility to re-emerge as prime minister, Nouri said that the 66-year-old politician enjoys “regional and international approval,” making it difficult to replace him even with strong Shiite competitors, such as Ameri.