Iraq ‘Will Replace Al-Sadr’s Bloc,’ Says Speaker

• Alaina
• . June 14, 2022
• . Update: June 17, 2022 12:28 am
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Iraq–Iraq’s parliament is set to replace Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr’s bloc in the legislature, parliamentary Speaker Mohammed Al-Halbousi said on Monday on a visit to Jordan.

Muqtada Al-Sadr’s bloc resigned en masse on Sunday after Al-Sadr asked them to step down amid a political dispute over the formation of a government. The Sadrist have now stepped back from parliamentary politics.

Al-Sadr’s party

“If the survival of the Sadrist bloc is an obstacle to the formation of the government, then all representatives will resign from parliament,” Al-Sadr said. He also said that he took the decision for the betterment of the country.

The resignations of Al-Sadr’s bloc came after the Iran-aligned Shiite blocs opposed Sadr’s government formation initiative, said Ihsan Al-Shammari, a politics professor at Baghdad University.

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According to Arab News, Ali Moussawi, a former Iraqi member of parliament and a political researcher at Baghdad University, also said that Al-Sadr accepted the bitter reality that it’s impossible to form a government away from the rival Iranian-backed groups.

The stepdown of Shiite Muslim cleric Al-Sadr’s entire group of 73 lawmakers is one of the biggest news in Iraqi politics. The next lawmaker with the largest batch of votes will step in as a replacement.

Al-Sadr’s party was the biggest winner in last October’s general election. However, the political deadlock has prevented the parliament from electing a president and forming a government.

The cleric is immensely popular in Iraq. He became popular for leading an insurgency against the United States forces after the 2003 invasion.

The situation in Iraq

Political deadlock over the formation of the new government has affected the country. Iraq also has significant food security concerns due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and unemployment. The Russian-Ukrainian war has led to food price hikes in Iraq. The poverty rate in Iraq also reached 23 per cent, according to the Iraqi Ministry of Planning.