Iraq: Disagreements within the “coordinating framework” regarding the replacement of Al-Sudani’s candidacy

Iraq: Disagreements within the “coordinating framework” regarding the replacement of Al-Sudani’s candidacy

9-20-2022

Iraq - Disagreements within the coordinating framework regarding the replacement of Al-Sudanis candidacyThe “Coordination Framework” coalition, the umbrella group for a number of political forces close to Tehran in Iraq, is facing new differences between different parties within it, against the background of the ongoing dialogues regarding the issue of changing the coalition’s candidate to form the government, Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani , and negotiating with the “Sadr movement” led by Muqtada Al-Sadr, regarding the one-year government , then holding new elections before the end of next year 2023.

Two wings within the “coordinating framework”
Disagreements divided the alliance into two wings; The first is represented by former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the Secretary-General of the “Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq” movement, Qais Khazali, and the leader of the “Hikma Movement” Ammar al-Hakim, while the second is represented by former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, leader of the Fatah Alliance Hadi al-Amiri and head of the Popular Mobilization Authority Faleh al-Fayyad.

The second wing is pressing for a settlement with the “Sadr movement”, away from the language of the victor and the loser and imposing a fait accompli, as this will exacerbate the crisis and return to the street clash again.

The information of three members of the “Coordination Framework” alliance, they spoke with “Al-Araby Al-Jadeed”, about the escalating differences between the “Coordination” forces.

There is an Iranian movement with the aim of healing the rift within the alliance and preventing the expansion of the dispute

The sources confirmed the presence of an Iranian movement represented by the leader of the Quds Force, General Ismail Qaani, and another through the Lebanese “Hezbollah” through its leader, Muhammad Kawtharani, who was usually presented as the representative of “Hezbollah” in Iraq, with the aim of healing the rift and preventing the expansion of the dispute that began It comes out to the public through the statements and positions of some members of the coalition.

Replacing Al-Sudani inflamed the differences of the “coordinating framework”
A prominent leader in the “Al-Fateh” coalition, led by Hadi Al-Amiri, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “differences within the coalition intensified with the proposal to replace Al-Sudani with another figure not rejected by Muqtada Al-Sadr.”

The leader, who asked not to be named, explained, “Nuri al-Maliki, Qais Khazali and Ammar al-Hakim insisted on proceeding with the process of forming the new government, headed by Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, despite the Sadrist movement’s opposition to that, in a move rejected by Hadi al-Amiri, Haider al-Abadi and Faleh al-Fayyad.”

The same spokesman added that “Al-Amiri, Al-Abadi and Al-Fayyad stressed the need for an understanding with the Sadrist movement regarding the new government and who heads it before any step to form it, to prevent the Sadrists from any new escalation in the street, which may develop into an armed clash, as happened in the events of the Green Zone last month. “.

And the leader indicated that “this matter led to deep differences within the coordination framework, which amounted to the threat of Al-Amiri and Al-Abadi to withdraw from the coalition, if the views of Al-Maliki, Khazali and Al-Hakim were imposed on the rest of the parties to the framework.”

He continued, “This matter prompted Iranian and Lebanese parties (the representative of Hezbollah, Muhammad Kawtharani) to intervene to calm the situation within the coordination framework, and prevent any splits between its political forces, while emphasizing the necessity of non-escalation by the Sadrist movement, to prevent the political conflict from turning into an armed conflict.”

Concern in the Iraqi street is compounded by the continuation of the longest political crisis in the country since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, after militias and armed groups allied to Iran entered the crisis line, in alignment with the forces of the “coordinating framework” against the “Sadr movement.”

Al-Amiri and Al-Abadi threatened to withdraw from the coalition, if the views of Al-Maliki, Khazali and Al-Hakim were imposed

For his part, another source within the “Coordination Framework” coalition confirmed the same information, explaining in a telephone conversation with “The New Arab”, that “the dispute has not been resolved in the past two days.”

He revealed that the Iranian approach to the crisis is “that none of the Shiite political forces will emerge as a defeated party, and the need to agree on the steps to form the government, without excluding anyone,” noting that “it is hoped that the leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Muhammad Kawtharani, will participate in a meeting.” the frame”.

For his part, Aqil al-Rudaini, spokesman for the “Victory” coalition, which is led by Haider al-Abadi, said in an interview with “Al-Araby Al-Jadeed”, that “the coordinating framework is not a political bloc until it has one opinion, and for this there is a difference in attitudes between the blocs affiliated with this coalition.” “.

Al-Rudaini explained that “the victory coalition has a tendency to solve the political crisis through mediation between the coordination framework and the Sadrist movement, and we are still working on this mediation with other political parties, with the aim of preventing bloodshed and preventing any escalation that might lead to clashes in the Iraqi street.”

He stressed that “it is not possible to impose the opinion of any political party in the framework on the rest of the parties in the same alliance, so any decision must be taken through unanimity, and if it is not unanimous, then it must be by a majority.”

The “coordination framework” disagreements are not new
In the same context, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Mahdi Abdul Karim, considered, in an interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that “the differences within the Coordination Framework Alliance are not new, but they have begun to appear to the public, especially since individual statements and positions of forces within the framework confirm the existence of these differences.” “.

Abdul Karim indicated that “according to the data regarding the positions of the leaders of the coordination framework, there are those who want to escalate the political positions with the Sadrist movement, and there are those who are working on calm to prevent a recurrence of armed conflict. The opinion of the majority of political forces is to calm the political situation in order to prevent reactions that may have a negative impact on the street.”

He added, “The crisis cannot be resolved without making concessions to reach understandings, and the persistence of political stubbornness will deepen the dispute further and more dangerously.”

A spokesman for the victory coalition: It is not possible to impose the opinion of any political party in the framework on the rest of the parties in the same coalition

On the other hand, Iraqi political analyst Maher Judeh said, in an interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that “the differences and differences have only now appeared to the public, but they have existed since before the formation of the coordination framework in its current sense, after the October elections of last year.” He pointed out that “these forces met under the title of the framework with a main goal, which is to confront the project of Muqtada al-Sadr and his allies to form a majority government.”

Judeh said that “according to the data, there is a clear difference in the positions of some of the framework forces from others in it, regarding the form, age, and goal of the new government, as well as who heads it.” He expressed his belief that “the continuation of these differences without consensus between the forces of the coordination framework, may push some parties to the framework to withdraw from it.”

The political analyst said that “the differences and splits within the coordination framework will certainly serve the Sadrist movement, especially since the movement’s leader Muqtada al-Sadr has worked during the last period to withdraw some of the framework parties to his project (the majority government).”

The axes of the Iraqi crisis are currently summarized in the insistence of the “coordinating framework” forces on resuming parliament sessions and resuming its work in full. It also adheres to electing a president and a prime minister with full powers instead of the current caretaker government headed by Mustafa Al-Kazemi , and then going towards amending the current election law.

On the other hand, the Sadrist movement rejects this and insists on dissolving parliament and holding early elections within 9 months. It also proposes amending paragraph 76 of the constitution regarding the major bloc that has the right to form a government.

He also raises another demand, which is the amendment of the Federal Court law to be more independent from the political parties that, since 2005, have actually chosen the 11 members of this court, using sectarian and partisan quotas. In addition, the Sadrist movement refuses to amend the electoral law.

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