The political crisis in Iraq .. Al-Sadr calls on independent representatives to form a government within 15 days

Today, Wednesday, the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, called on independent representatives in the Iraqi parliament to end the stifling political crisis in the country by forming a new government within 15 days.

Al-Sadr said in a tweet on Twitter that the Alliance to Save the Nation is the largest parliamentary bloc and the sponsor of the national majority, but due to the Iraqi judiciary's decision to activate the blocking third, it delayed the formation of the majority government.

The Alliance to Save a Homeland occupies 175 out of 329 seats, and it is made up of prominent Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish forces: the Sadrist bloc, the Alliance of Sovereignty, and the Kurdistan Democratic Party.

Al-Sadr added that the second party, the "coordinating framework" calling for the consensus government, failed to form the consensus government "after we gave it a 40-day deadline."

Al-Sadr called on independent deputies to form an independent bloc of at least 40 of them, away from the coordination framework, and to join the larger coalition (the National Salvation Alliance) to form an independent government.

He continued, "The largest coalition will vote on their (independent) government, including the Sadrist bloc, and in agreement with the Sunnis and Kurds of the coalition, and the Sadrist movement will not have a participation in its ministers, provided that this is within a maximum period of 15 days."

Independents occupy 43 seats in Parliament, which was elected in October 2021, and the results were then issued by the Sadrist movement.

Iraq is experiencing a political crisis as a result of differences between the forces winning parliamentary seats over the prime minister, and how to form the next government, and differences prevail among the Kurds over the presidential candidate.

It was customary for the Sunnis to lead the parliament, the Kurds to head the republic, and the Shiites to head the government, according to a constitutional custom followed since the US occupation toppled Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003.

Al-Sadr seeks to form a national majority government by excluding some forces from it, led by the State of Law coalition led by former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

However, the Shiite forces that make up the coordination framework and are close to Iran oppose al-Sadr's efforts, and demand a consensual government in which all political forces in Parliament participate, similar to previous sessions.