Iraq
Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr (left), and head of the Fatih Alliance Hadi al-Amiri (right) during a joint press conference. Photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A top figure in the pro-Iran Shiite Iraqi parliamentary faction Coordination Framework on Thursday voiced support for rival Muqtada al-Sadr’s call for early elections, following nation-wide protests by Sadrist supporters in response to the current legislature’s failure to form a government ten months after October’s vote.
Influential Shiite leader Sadr on Wednesday called for early parliamentary elections in Iraq and the dissolution of the current legislature, from which all 73 MPs of his political bloc resigned in June.
“We support holding early elections, which was called for by His Eminence Muqtada al-Sadr, especially since the previous elections were marred by a lot of suspicions and objections,” read a statement from Hadi al-Amiri, head of the Fatih Alliance, early Thursday.
Amiri added that the new elections must be held in a “transparent” environment that would restore the Iraqi people’s trust in the political process.
Sadr’s remarks were also welcomed by Amiri’s ally in the Coordination Framework, Haider al-Abadi, saying it aligned with his party’s initiative that was proposed to end the political deadlock in Iraq.
No official statement regarding Sadr’s call for new elections have been issued by the Coordination Framework, or the alliance’s leading figure Nouri al-Maliki.
The Coordination Framework challenged Sadr’s attempts to form a national majority government after emerging as the main victor of October’s early elections, insisting on form a government based on political consensus, leading Iraq into a political deadlock that has been ongoing for nearly ten months.
Sadrist supporters have held protests across Iraq in recent days, most notably staging a sit-in at the parliament building, rejecting the nomination of former minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani by the Coordination Framework for the post of Iraq’s prime minister.
“Do not let them [rivals, media] delude you that the revolution is a battle for power, because those who want power would not withdraw 73 MPs from the parliament,” said Sadr in his speech on Wednesday.
Iraqis took to the streets in October 2019 in massive protests against corruption and unemployment and called for the provision of basic services, resulting in early parliamentary elections in October of 2021.
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