The political crisis in Iraq: the postponement of the Erbil meeting, pending convincing Al-Sadr
The political crisis in Iraq: the postponement of the Erbil meeting, pending convincing Al-Sadr
6-20-2022
The Sunni Arab political forces in Iraq, and the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party in Erbil, led by Massoud Barzani , are heading to postpone discussing their position on the developments of the political crisis that has afflicted the country for nearly eight months, the last of which was the withdrawal of the Sadrist movement , the first winner in the legislative elections , and the resignation of all His deputies from Parliament .
Political figures in Baghdad talk about the intention of the “ Coordination Framework ” alliance , an ally of Iran, to move towards other political forces, to discuss forming a government, which will not be an easy task, whether at the level of the language of numbers in Parliament, or the political level represented by the withdrawal of the Sadrists.
In the developments of the political crisis, sources close to the Iraqi religious leader Muqtada al-Sadr confirmed to Al- Araby Al-Jadeed that the latter’s office apologized for receiving any political figure at the present time, amid leaks about Al-Sadr’s intention to go to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj rituals.
The same sources indicated that the mediation through which the leader of the Wisdom Movement , Ammar al-Hakim , moved to persuade al-Sadr to return to the political process, did not produce any tangible progress.
On Friday, al-Hakim expressed, in a speech to a gathering of his supporters in the southern province of Babylon, his regret for the Sadrist movement’s withdrawal from the political process, saying that “no one can fill anyone’s void.”
Al-Hakim, who is making a comment about the crisis for the first time, added that “Iraq needs unity,” reassuring that “things are going for good, and will not go to any clash, with the wisdom and prudence of everyone from all Iraqi components,” and stressed “the need for a national service government of competent personalities.” “.
And announced the coordination framework, which brings together the political forces backed by Iran officially, to proceed with the process of forming the new Iraqi government , without the participation of the Sadrist movement in it.
It was hoped that the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the “Sovereignty” alliance would hold an important meeting in Erbil during the past two days, for the purpose of taking an official position on going with the framework of the government formation process, or heading towards the opposition, in support of Sadr’s recent move.
In this context, an informed political source revealed to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “the postponement of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Sovereignty Alliance decided their positions regarding the next stage, was due to the current movement to persuade the leader of the Sadrist movement Muqtada Al-Sadr to return to the political process.”
And the source, who asked not to be named, stated that “political parties received news about the possibility of the Sadrist movement’s leader Muqtada al-Sadr’s return to the political process, in exchange for one condition, which is the formation of the national majority government, without the participation of all parties of the coordination framework in it, and without achieving this condition there is no return. Al-Sadr to the political scene in the near or even the distant future.”
The source added that “the political movement from multiple parties to persuade al-Sadr to return to the process is ongoing and is taking place at a high level, but al-Sadr refuses until now to receive any political party, being isolated from political work at the present time, as he informed those close to him, who are communicating with a number of political leaders.
And the Sadrist bloc deputies, last week, their resignations from Parliament. The leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, decided to withdraw from the race to form a government, in response to efforts to circumvent the results of the elections in which his bloc achieved first place, and the refusal of competing political forces to form a government from outside what it calls the “Shiite political house.”
A member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Erbil, Wafa Muhammad, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “the position of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Alliance of Sovereignty regarding the current situation will be announced soon during a meeting in Erbil.”
And Muhammad indicated that “the reason for postponing the Erbil meeting is primarily technical, related to the two parties. And that so far, the official date for holding the meeting between them has not been set to resolve their position on the political scene, especially after the withdrawal of the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, from the movement to form the new Iraqi government.
He added that “all options are open during the next stage, and the results of the Erbil meeting between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Alliance of Sovereignty will clarify the scene more, after taking an official position on the withdrawal of the Sadrist movement from the movement to form the new government and the entire political process in Iraq.”
In addition, the prominent member of the “Coordination Framework” coalition, MP Ahmed Al-Moussawi, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “the forces of the Coordination Framework have formed negotiating committees for the purpose of conducting visits to all political parties, with the aim of discussing the process of forming the new government,” stressing that “during the two days, In the coming two years, the dialogues regarding the formation of the government will be launched by the coordination framework, and no political party with its political and parliamentary weight will be marginalized.”
Al-Moussawi spoke of what he described as “positive messages”, which reached the forces of the coordination framework of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Alliance of Sovereignty regarding their positions on the process of forming the new government, which neither side confirmed to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
The Sovereignty Alliance, led by Khamis al-Khanjar , and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, led by Massoud Barzani, have 98 deputies in the Iraqi parliament, while the representatives of civil forces have an “ extension ” and a “new generation,” who expressed positions rejecting the crisis and supported the idea of dissolving Parliament, 18 In addition, 11 independent deputies support the position of the Sadrist movement’s leader Muqtada al-Sadr, to form a majority government, which means that the trap of the blocking third may turn against the “coordinating framework,” in any attempt to form the new government.
While the coordinating framework and its allies from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the “Azm” alliance, the “design” alliance, the Christian “Babylon” bloc and independent deputies, have approximately 130 deputies, and this confirms the inability of the framework to form the new government without its alliance with the Alliance of Sovereignty and the Kurdistan Democratic Party For the purpose of holding a session to elect the President of the Republic with a quorum of two-thirds of the members of Parliament, i.e. 220 deputies, according to the latest Federal Court decision.
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