Iraq: Moqtada al-Sadr calls on the courts to dissolve Parliament

Supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr gather in front of the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad, August 4, 2022 © Anmar Khalil/AP

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1 min

Moqtada al-Sadr continues his showdown with his political rivals in Iraq.

The Shiite cleric calls for the dissolution of Parliament, just ten months after his election.

For ten days, his supporters have blocked the functioning of the Assembly, camping near the building.

And now he is calling on the courts to obtain early elections.

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Faced with the risk that

the political confrontation

will turn into an armed struggle and in a hurry to find a negotiated outcome, Moqtada al-Sadr's rivals had opened the door to early elections.

This is the main claim of the Shiite religious leader who failed to form a government.

But the agreement is not yet sealed.

Opponents of Moqtada al-Sadr set conditions for the holding of these elections.

The first of them, reiterated on Monday by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, is the resumption of parliamentary sessions.

It is he who must indeed vote, by an absolute majority, for its dissolution.

But the religious dignitary calls on his supporters to continue their

sit-in in

front of the building to maintain pressure on the opposing camp and prevent the appointment of a Prime Minister he does not want.

A dissolution imposed by justice for al-Sadr

Faced with the impasse, Moqtada al-Sadr is now asking the courts to pronounce the dissolution of Parliament.

He calls on his former deputies and his supporters to file appeals.

He justifies his approach by the fact that the deadlines set by the Constitution for the appointment of an executive have been exceeded.

And in doing so, Moqtada al-Sadr sets a deadline: he demands that the dissolution be pronounced by the end of next week.

►Also read: Moqtada al-Sadr, the man at the heart of the Iraqi crisis

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  • Iraq

  • Religion

  • Justice

  • Nouri al-Maliki