BAGHDAD, Iraq

Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Thursday called on his parliamentary bloc members to resign from the parliament over the failure to form a new government in Iraq, according to the official Iraqi news agency.

The al-Sadr bloc has 73 legislators in the 329-seat parliament, following parliamentary elections held in October last year.

"A national majority government is the only way to reform the country," al-Sadr said.

He seeks to form a national majority government without former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his Iran-aligned coalition.

Most Shia parliamentary groups have rejected the move, citing their Coordination Framework, which calls for a coalition government involving all parliamentary blocs.

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