SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Saturday in a statement released on his Twitter account told his followers that they brought a positive reaction to his earlier call for the parliament dissolution.
“The protests brought positive reactions toward the issue of dissolution of the Iraqi parliament,” Sadr in the statement told his supporters.
“The people await reform, the protests must be more serious for correcting Iraq’s political process,” He said.
One week marked since Sadr’s supporters stormed the Iraqi parliament building demanding the dissolution of the current elected parliament and calling for an early election.
“Part of the Iraqi parties have showed positive reaction toward the call for an early elation, the people await on real reform”, and “Iraq needs action, not words” Sadr quoted.
Parties have recently answered Sadr’s call to hold an early election, including the Sadrist political rival Shiite coordination framework as well as the speaker of the Iraqi parliament.
The coordination in a statement on Thursday announced that it supports the call conditionally saying if there is a national ‘consensus’ of all parties.
Iraqi parliamentary speaker Muhammed al-Halbousi on his Twitter account in response to al-Sadr’s call said, “The Iraqi council of representatives represents the people, and those people that rallied are part of its component”.
“The will of the people cannot be neglected,” he said.
“We support steps toward an early election in a specific time frame with the agreement through the path of democracy and understanding that suitable with top national interests” he added.
Iraq held its last parliamentary elections in October 2021, however, political disagreements among parties have hindered the parliament from electing a president and forming a government, and selecting a new president. The major winner of the October election, the Sadrist movement called to hold another early election.
The country is trapped inside deep political impasses. Its current political unrest is triggered by a prolonged political deadlock. Nearly 10 months after national elections were held, Iraq has been unable to form a new government. That’s the most extended period since the 2003 U.S. invasion that reset the political order.
