NewsMiddle EastAl Sadr asks to dissolve Parliament and call early elections in Iraq

Al Sadr asks to dissolve Parliament and call early elections in Iraq

Protests in the Iraqi Parliament – Ameer Al-Mohammedawi/dpa

The Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr, who leads the Sayirun nationalist coalition, whose supporters have occupied the Iraqi lower house, has called on Wednesday to dissolve Parliament and call early elections in the country.

“The old faces will not exist through an early democratic electoral process after the dissolution of Parliament,” he said, adding that “the Iraqi people are tired of the entire ruling class,” so “the protesters must stay and continue with their planton until they achieve their demands”.

In a speech delivered on Iraqi television, he stressed that the conflict “is not between people” and referred to the incident of the audio leaked supposedly by his greatest rival, former Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki, assuring that “some” want kill him, according to the NINA news agency.

These audios, published by the journalist Ali Fadel, confirm the antipathy between the two and account for some insults by Al Maliki against the Shiite cleric, even calling him a “murderer” and a “coward” during a meeting.

Likewise, the Shiite cleric Al Sadr added this Wednesday in his speech that “malicious demands” obstruct “the formation of a majority government”, emphasizing that they will not accept any bloodshed”, according to the newspaper ‘Al Iraqiya’ .

With regard to dialogue, he has made it clear that “there is no benefit in dialogue with them.” “Do not give in to their rumors that I do not want dialogue, but dialogue with them has been tried and has only brought ruin,” he stressed, adding that “he does not seek authority,” but calls for reforms.

Sadr supporters stormed parliament for the second time in a week on Saturday — after Wednesday’s invasion — to protest pro-Iranian Shiite politician Mohamed al-Sudani’s bid for prime minister.

The Parliament is located in the Green Zone, the fortified part of Baghdad where the headquarters of the main Iraqi institutions and foreign embassies are located.

The Sayirun coalition led by Al Sadr was the most voted in the elections last October. In it they participate from Iraqi nationalists to communists and won 73 of the 329 seats at stake. However, Sayirun deputies walked out of Parliament in June in protest at the lack of solutions to the political crisis.

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