Following the 2009 Al Anbar governorate election, the leaders of the largest two parties, Ahmed Abu Risha of the Iraq Awakening and Independents National Alliance and Saleh al-Mutlaq of the Iraqi National Dialogue Front, invited Al-Fahadawi to come to Anbar as governor. He said he would only do so if he could work with all parties and that there would be no partisan political interference in his work, which they agreed. He was voted in as Governor by the Anbar Provincial Council 24-3 and formed an administration with all parties in the provincial council except the Iraqi Islamic Party which declined to join.
