Crowds of Iraqis demonstrated - today, Friday, in Baghdad - in support of the coordination framework that calls for the return of parliament and the formation of a new government, while other crowds demonstrated in support of the Sadrist movement, which calls for the dissolution of parliament and the holding of new elections;

out of the current political impasse.

This afternoon, supporters of the coordination framework gathered at the suspension bridge near the Green Zone to demand the formation of a new government and respect for state institutions, coinciding with the sit-in of Muqtada al-Sadr's supporters in front of Parliament.

The demonstrators carried the flags of Iraq and the Popular Mobilization and pictures of the Shiite Supreme Leader Ali al-Sistani and another to the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Faeq Zeidan, and chanted slogans to protect the state and its institutions, stressing adherence to the demands of the Shiite coordination framework forces to nominate Muhammad Shia al-Sudani as head of the next Iraqi government, and rejected calls to dissolve parliament or prejudice judicial institutions. and constitutionalism, calling for respect for the prestige of the state and not to infringe upon it, according to the German news agency.

A spokesman for the Organizing Committee for the Coordination Framework Demonstrations called for the resumption of parliament sessions immediately, and said that Iraq is for everyone, stressing the need for integrity and respect for the prestige of the state, as he put it.

Later this evening, the French Press Agency said that the supporters of the coordination framework concluded the demonstration by starting an open sit-in in front of one of the gates of the fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad, as stated in a statement by the Organizing Committee for the Demonstrations, while Al-Sadr supporters in Parliament have been camping inside the Green Zone for two weeks. .

The framework announced that the sit-in aims to achieve demands, which it described as just, including “accelerating the formation of a national service government” and “ending the suspension of Parliament.”

Al-Sadr's supporters performed Friday prayers and demonstrated in the vicinity of Parliament inside the Green Zone (Reuters)

Unrequited demands

Hours before the start of the coordination framework’s supporters, thousands of al-Sadr’s supporters performed Friday prayers in the vicinity of the parliament. They had begun to flock in response to the Sadrist movement’s call to confirm that they would not back down from their demands to dissolve the Iraqi parliament and form a government that would pave the way for early elections.

The Friday prayer sermon - affiliated with the Sadrist movement - stressed that there is no compromise or retreat from the demands raised by the movement's leader Muqtada al-Sadr.

Al-Khatib also stressed the continuation of the sit-in because it expresses what he called a "people's revolution", indicating that there is a real opportunity for change through the revolution against corruption, as he described it.

The German news agency said that other demonstrations in support of al-Sadr took place today in the governorates of Babil, Basra, Maysan, Nasiriyah, Diwaniyah, Wasit and Muthanna, noting that the participants raised the slogan of dissolving the Iraqi parliament and holding early parliamentary elections.


Time to dissolve Parliament

The new protests come in the wake of Muqtada al-Sadr's announcement that the Supreme Judicial Council would be given until the end of next week to issue a decision to dissolve parliament.

Al-Sadr had called on his supporters to gather in the provinces and stay until further notice as the sit-in continued in Baghdad, and appealed to what he called the masses supporting the coordination framework to demonstrate for reform, not to support the regime, as he put it.

Saleh Muhammad al-Iraqi, who is close to the leader of the Sadrist movement, also called for a mass gathering of al-Sadr's followers, each in his governorate, and to stay there until further notice, and explained that the goal of this move was to fill out legal forms to submit to the judiciary in order to dissolve Parliament.

Article 64 of the Iraqi constitution stipulates that the House of Representatives shall be dissolved by an absolute majority vote of its members, and the vote shall be at the request of one-third of the members of the Council, or a request from the Prime Minister, and with the approval of the President of the Republic.

When the House of Representatives is dissolved, the President of the Republic shall call for general elections in the country within a maximum period of 60 days from the date of the dissolution.

It is noteworthy that the representatives of the Sadrist movement - which led the recent parliamentary elections - have recently withdrew from parliament, which increased the chances of the coordination framework to form a new government.

The coordination framework parties say that the issue of dissolving parliament can only be discussed if it resumes its sessions.

After supporters of the Sadrist movement stormed the parliament building two weeks ago, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi decided to stop the sessions until further notice.


Early elections

In another development, the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Massoud Barzani, agreed with the head of the Sovereignty Alliance, Khamis al-Khanjar, on the need to hold early elections in Iraq, considering this a good step, provided that all parties adhere to their results.

Al-Khanjar office said that the meeting - which took place in Erbil - confirmed coordination and joint action to overcome the political blockage, noting that any new initiative should be aimed at improving the political situation and ending the crisis.

For his part, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi expressed his readiness to hand over power to any elected government, and called for dialogue to resolve the crisis, stressing that his government is working with all parties to calm the situation.

On July 30, hundreds of Sadrist supporters stormed the parliament building.

The Sadrist movement seeks, through the sit-in inside the Green Zone, to achieve the objectives of: dissolving parliament and going towards early elections.

The current insists on preventing the passage of the "coordinating framework" coalition government, which still clings to its only candidate, Muhammad Shia'a al-Sudani, to form a new government.

Al-Sudani is close to Iran, and the leaders of the Sadrist movement describe him as the "shadow" of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

This comes 10 months after the last legislative elections and the failure to form a new government, as Parliament failed to hold a session to elect a new president, as well as to choose a prime minister.