New show of force by Moqtada Al-Sadr in Iraq. Tens of thousands of supporters of the influential politician held the traditional Friday prayer in the ultra-secure “green zone” in Baghdad on Friday August 5. “Yes, yes to reform”, “no, no to corruption”chanted the faithful, as the country continues to sink into a deep political crisis.
“We support the claims (…) [de Moqtada Al-Sadr] : the dissolution of Parliament and the holding of early elections”launched the imam during the prayer, two days after the first speech of the Shiite leader on the subject. “Iraq is a prisoner of the corrupt”accused the imam, castigating in his sermon “the glaring deterioration of public services, health and education”. A few hundred demonstrators then returned to the outskirts of Parliament, which they have occupied since July 30.
Ten months of crisis
Ten months after the legislative elections, Iraq is still awaiting the appointment of a new Prime Minister and a President of the Republic. The October 2021 ballot was won by the Sadrist current, which, with its 73 deputies, represented its first political force in a fragmented Parliament where no camp managed to build a clear majority among the 329 elected.
Having failed to gather a majority to appoint a prime minister, Moqtada Al-Sadr forced his deputies to resign in June, leaving the task of forming a government to his opponents.
The tension rose a notch when the Shiite leader rejected the candidate presented by his adversaries, the pro-Iran Shiite factions which form the influential Coordination Framework. The sit-in of supporters of Moqtada Al-Sadr was initiated on July 30 to protest against this candidacy.
Moqtada Al-Sadr’s opponents in favor of elections
Capitalizing on his ability to mobilize crowds, Moqtada Al-Sadr called for the dissolution of parliament and early legislative elections. A dissolution of Parliament must be recorded by an absolute majority vote and may be requested by one third of the deputies, or by the Prime Minister with the agreement of the President of the Republic.
The adversaries of Mr. Sadr – who maintains rocky relations with Shiite Iran – responded to him late in the evening, Thursday August 4th.
“The Coordination Framework affirms its support for any constitutional avenue to resolve political crises and act in the interest of the people, including early elections”, the alliance said. But any election must be held “after reaching a national consensus on the issue and in a safe environment”she pointed out.
The Speaker of Parliament, Mohammed Al-Halboussi, supported early legislative, saying on Twitter that he was “impossible to ignore the will of the masses”.