Hundreds of supporters of the Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al Sadr began a sit-in this Tuesday (08.23.2022) before the Supreme Council of the Judiciary in Baghdad, in full combat for the political future of Iraq, local media report.
The “Sadrists” set up tents outside Iraq’s highest court, located outside the heavily guarded Green Zone, according to the state news agency INA. They display banners calling for “the dissolution of the National Assembly” and a “fight against corruption,” according to photos and videos released by those responsible for the Sadrist current.
political dead end
The impasse is total in Iraq, where the Shiite political forces have been facing each other since the legislative elections of October 2021 over the name of the next prime minister.
Moqtada Sadr is a religious and political leader whom hundreds of thousands of Iraqis obey to the letter. His formation is the largest in parliament. The Sadrist Current calls for the dissolution of Parliament, anticipated legislative and a change in the Constitution that would allow the winner of the elections the right to form a Government, which is not the case at present.
On the other hand, the Coordination Framework coalition, made up of pro-Iran Shiite factions, demands the formation of a new government to end months of stalemate. And he has also resorted to sit-ins to show his ability to call.
After the last general elections, held ten months ago, post-election negotiations between Sadr’s bloc —the largest in the chamber— and other factions have been unsuccessful, so the country has failed to appoint a new government or prime minister. nor president.
The Coordination Framework brings together the party of former Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki (Sadr’s former enemy), and Hashed al Shaabi, a former pro-Iranian paramilitary network, now integrated into the security forces.