Iraq’s parliamentary sessions indefinitely suspended after protest

Iraq’s parliamentary sessions have been indefinitely suspended after hundreds of supporters of powerful Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr occupied the assembly chamber and grounds on Saturday to protest over deputies’ failure to form a government since last October’s legislative election.

After securing entry for supporters for the second time in a week to Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone where parliament, government offices and foreign embassies are located, the Sadrist movement stated, “The demonstrators announce a sit-in until further notice.” While some took possession of the assembly’s chamber, others set up tents outside and organisers provided hot meals and tea. Vendors pedalled cigarettes and other items. Demonstrators can be expected to leave only if commanded by their leader as they did after last Wednesday’s invasion.

Parliamentary speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi said the suspension was mandated by Iraq’s constitution and called on the armed forces commander to “take the necessary measures to protect institutions and demonstrators on whom I call to preserve the peace and state property”.

‘Safety and stability’

President Barham Salih urged the bitterly opposed political blocs to initiate dialogue to “examine the roots of the crisis” and reach solutions which would “bring the country to safety and stability.”

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Independent Iraqi nationalist Sadr opposes the rival pro-Iran Shia Co-ordination Framework’s nomination for prime minister of Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. The former lawmaker was chosen by ex-prime minister Nouri al-Maliki whose policies discriminated against and oppressed Sunnis, driving thousands to join Islamic State (also known as Isis).

According to the sectarian system of governance imposed by the US, this post must be a Shia, the parliamentary speaker a Sunni and the president a Kurd.

The Sadrists took 73 seats, the largest number, in the 329-member legislature, securing the right to form a government but was stymied when the Co-ordination Framework denied the two-thirds quorum required to elect a president who would select a prime minister. The quest for a president was also complicated by a dispute between the two main Kurdish factions.

Mismanagement and corruption

Following months of deadlock, Sadrist deputies resigned in June and most of their seats were filled by Co-ordination Framework candidates who were next in line on electoral lists and have formed a majority coalition.

At that time, Sadr promised to continue his campaign for an end to US-Iran rivalries on Iraqi soil and accusations of Iraqi mismanagement and corruption which had spurred millions of Iraqis to mount protests in October 2019 and continued until the advent of Covid in early 2020.

This crisis is the most serious since 2014 when Isis seized control of Mosul and one-third of Iraqi territory, forcing a US-led coalition to join forces with the Iraqi army and Iran-affiliated militias to defeat Isis after a three-year conflict.

The campaign empowered the pro-Iran Shia militias which have insisted on consensus governments including all key factions. Sadr has rejected this formula and called for a majority government excluding the Shia militias Sadr seeks to disarm and disband, a major demand of a majority of Iraqis.

Unlike the militia leaders who sought refuge in Iran during the reign of Saddam Hussein and returned home after the US invasion, Sadr remained in Iraq and established the Mahdi Army to fight the occupation. Consequently, he remains a popular figure, particularly in Shia-majority Sadr City, a poor Baghdad suburb, and the south.