A meeting of the leaders of the political blocs in Baghdad with the boycott of the Sadrist movement
A meeting of the leaders of the political blocs in Baghdad with the boycott of the Sadrist movement
8-17-2022
The leaders of the Iraqi political blocs at the Government Palace in Baghdad held a meeting on Wednesday at the invitation of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi , to try to find a way out of the political crisis that is paralyzing the country, but the Sadrist movement announced its boycott of the meeting.
Ten months after the legislative elections, the political forces are still unable to agree on the election of a new president and the formation of a new government.
The level of escalation between the Sadrist movement and the coordination framework has risen since late July, with the two sides exchanging pressure in the street and in statements, without things developing into violence.
So far, mediation attempts and calls for dialogue between the two sides have not led to any result.
The Sadrist movement demands the dissolution of Parliament and the holding of early legislative elections, while the coordinating framework wants to hold these elections, but with conditions, demanding the formation of a government before early elections.
The coordination framework includes, in particular, the parliamentary Fatah bloc representing the pro-Iranian Popular Mobilization factions, and the bloc of former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Sadr’s historical opponent.
Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, who heads the caretaker government, gathered at one table on Wednesday the leaders of the most prominent political blocs in the country, according to a statement issued by his office.
The statement stated that the meeting took place “with the participation of leaders and leaders of the political forces in Iraq, and in the presence of the President of the Republic, the heads of the legislative and judicial authorities, and the UN envoy in Iraq,” Jenin Plasshart.
A source in the coordinating framework stated that the head of the State of Law bloc, former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the head of the Fatah bloc Hadi al-Amiri, the former prime minister and leader of the victory coalition Haider al-Abadi, and the head of the Popular Mobilization Authority, Faleh al-Fayyad, attended the meeting.
The two major Kurdish parties were also represented in the meeting, with Fouad Hussein, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and Bafel Talabani, head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, representing his party, according to a source in the Kurdistan Regional Government.
On the other hand, the meeting boycotted the Sadrist movement, which announced in a statement that “with all its addresses and political figures, it did not participate in the political dialogue that the Prime Minister called for today, neither directly nor indirectly.”
On Tuesday, Al-Kazemi called in a statement to this meeting “to start a serious national dialogue,” stressing that the meeting’s goal is “common thinking” in order to “find solutions to the current political crisis.”
Al-Sadr, whose supporters have been camping for more than two weeks in the vicinity of the Iraqi parliament, had called for a “million” demonstration next Saturday, but announced on Tuesday that it would be postponed “until further notice.”
Since August 12, supporters of the coordination framework have also been holding a sit-in on a road leading to the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad.
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