Iraq plunged into political crisis after a quarter of MPs resigned

We reluctantly accepted the requests of our brothers, representatives of the Sadrist bloc, to resign.Parliament spokesman Mohammed al-Halboussi announced on Twitter after receiving letters of resignation from 73 elected members of the Moqtada Sadr.

The Shiite leader, accustomed to political symbols, asked his representatives on Thursday prepare their resignation.

Parliament services were not available at night to comment on the constitutional implications of this decision.

But according to Iraqi political scientists Hamzeh Hadad |,It still needs to be approved by Parliament these resignations by absolute majority for them to be effective. However, parliamentary holidays began on Thursday and elected officials should not find the hemicycle until August.

” Still a bit more political theater on the part of the sadrist and Halboussi movement. “

More than symbolic, this turmoil underscores the total political stalemate in which Iraq finds itself, with a taste of deja vu, negotiations between the parties to set up a government. and appoint a Prime Minister who normally performs extensions, such as this time.

Within eight months and the early legislative elections in October 2021, in which the Sadrist movement emerged as the big winner, the Prime Minister’s government. Mustafa Kazimi is content to expedite current activities.

Mr. Kazimi, who has been in power since 2020 and does not belong to any political party, has no free hand to try to solve the social crisis that the 41 million inhabitants of the oil country are going through.

Despite the oil, the economy is stalling

The country is suffering from many evils: nepotism, corruption (Iraq pointing to a poor 157^e in 180 countries in the Transparency International ranking) and energy issues, in particular.

Although it is one of the countries endowed with hydrocarbons, Iraq is unable to provide electricity to its citizens on a regular basis, causing cargo losses and inciting population anger, especially in the early summer. this when the temperature approaches 50 degrees.

These demands pushed thousands of Iraqis into the streets in the fall of 2019, during an unprecedented uprising.

In Parliament, the two poles of political Shiism, that of Moqtada Sadr and the pro-Iran Coordination Framework, continue to demand a majority and the right to appoint a prime minister.

Moqtada Sadr, who is an ally of the Sunni and Kurdish forces, wants to destroy the tradition that wants all Shiite forces to be involved in a consensus government. Shia clergy want a majority of the government which will propel its opponents from the Coordination Framework towards the opposition.

He has not succeeded in doing so until now and, in protest, he recently claimed that his representatives were sitting in oppositionleaving the Coordinating Framework to form a government.

The country is looking for a president

The majority of the government na Moqtada Sadr calls for his wishes will be voiced around his current, the party of the Sunni president of Parliament Mohammed al-Halboussi and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK). These three formations bring together 155 representatives to 329 and therefore have no majority in the hemicycle.

Notably the Coordination Framework includes the Alliance for Conquest, a political showcase for former pro-Iran paramilitaries in Hashd al-Shaabi. It brings together 83 elected officials.

In the absence of a clear majority and consensus, Parliament has failed three times since the beginning of the year to organize the election of the President of the Republic, the first stage before the appointment of the Prime Minister and the formation of the government.

All the deadlines set by the Constitution have been exceeded.

One of the ways mentioned to break up the controversy was to dissolve Parliament and organize new legislative elections, but in order to do so, the representatives had to dissolve the Assembly itself.