As Sadr's deadline approaches, Shiite forces in Iraq launch a new initiative to solve the government formation crisis

On Tuesday, the forces of the so-called Shiite framework

end the crisis of forming the new government, and demanded "the issue of the three presidencies in Iraq be resolved through the understanding of the people of each component among them."

The framework forces - which includes most of the prominent Shiite forces with the exception of the Sadrist bloc in a statement - renewed the call for the country's political forces to sit at the dialogue table, to discuss solutions to maintain the democratic process, without preconditions or restrictions.

The statement added that "the position of the President of the Republic occupies an important moral position, so the person of the President of the Republic should be characterized by efficiency, sincerity and good conduct," and called on the Kurdish parties "to make efforts to reach an understanding and agree on a candidate with these qualities and within the established contexts."

With regard to the position of Prime Minister, the statement called on independent representatives in Parliament to present a “candidate who possesses competence, integrity, acceptability, impartiality and all the qualifications required to form the new government, while preserving the right of the largest component of society through the blocs of the largest component allied to form the most numerous bloc in Parliament.” And then agree to nominate the next prime minister."

The forces affiliated with it are known as the Shiite coordination framework (Al-Jazeera)

The statement also called for "to move away from the policy of breaking wills, to show flexibility, and to make mutual concessions in order to meet at national and political commonalities, taking into account electoral weights."

He pointed out that "he will form a negotiating committee to start a dialogue with the political parties in order to put this initiative into practice."

Al-Sadr’s deadline for the coordination framework for talks with the parliamentary parties, with the exception of his list to form a government, expires within days (Reuters)

chest timeout

In early April, al-Sadr gave the "coordinating framework" forces 40 days to negotiate with the parliamentary parties, with the exception of his list of government formation, to negotiate the formation of the most numerous bloc in parliament in order to solve the government formation crisis.

pic.twitter.com/gXpL8UJ1O8

— Muqtada al-Sayyid Muhammad al-Sadr (@Mu_AlSadr) March 31, 2022

Al-Sadr adheres to the option of forming a “national majority” government according to the results of the parliamentary elections that were held on October 10, 2021, so that the government includes the winning forces, and leaves room for others to go to the opposition, which is rejected by the Shiite coordination framework forces that demand the formation of a national consensus government that includes all Winners and losers in the elections, according to the custom followed for years, known as “quotas”.

And the Iraqi parliament twice failed to hold a session dedicated to electing the president of the republic, according to the election results.

59 candidates are competing for this position, most notably the candidates of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Barham Salih, and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Reaper Ahmed. Prominent are the "Sadr bloc" and the "Sunni Sovereignty" coalition, which includes the "Progress" blocs led by Muhammad al-Halbousi, "Azm" led by Khamis al-Khanjar, and the "Kurdistan Democratic Party" led by Massoud Barzani.

international invitation

In a related context, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) called for a "genuine collective will" to end the stalemate in the country, calling on Iraqi leaders to agree to form a government quickly and decisively to address the country's long list of outstanding domestic priorities.

The mission stressed in a statement today, Wednesday, “the importance of overcoming the political stalemate in the interest of all Iraqis, and as significant weaknesses are exacerbated at the local level due to the ongoing effects of the Corona pandemic and global geopolitical tensions, a sincere collective will to resolve political differences should prevail now in order for the country to move forward and meet the needs of its citizens".