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The UN's envoy toÌýÌýon Thursday urged the country's leaders toÌýintensify efforts to form a new government, or riskÌýhampering much-needed change and reform.

Quarrelling parliamentarians are losing "precious time" and Iraqis areÌý"running out of patience",ÌýenvoyÌýÌýsaid in an address to the.

"Many Iraqis increasingly wonder whether the national interest is actually 'front and centre'Ìýin the ongoing negotiations- rather than access to resources and power, or how the pie of political appointments and ministries will be carved this time around,"Ìýshe said.

Millions of Iraqis voted for a new government that saw the Sadrist movement led by prominent Shia cleric Ìýwin 73 seats in the 329-member parliament in October last year.

But in the following months, negotiations between political blocsÌýto fill top roles and form a cabinetÌýkept stalling.

Parliament on Tuesday announced aÌýlist of , including current president and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) member BarhamÌýSalih, and challengerÌýReber Ahmed,Ìýthe candidateÌýfromÌýthe Kurdistan Democratic PartyÌý(KDP).

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, presidential positions haveÌýunofficially been reserved for Kurdish candidates, whereas the prime minister’s post is allocated to Shias.ÌýSunnis are appointed asÌýparliamentary speakers.

Politicians must come toÌýsee eye-to-eyeÌýon a program that informs Iraqis on what to expect in the next four years, with a focus on employment, meaningful participation on women and youth and safety and security,ÌýHennis-Plasschaert told the UN.

Poverty and corruption were two of the main reasons behind the mass protest movement that began in Baghdad and spread nationwide in October 2019.

More than 600 Iraqis were killed in the brutal crackdown on the protestsÌýby state security forces and Iran-backed militias.Ìý