A leader of the Sadrist movement saw that yesterday's dialogue session resulted in unimportant points and increased the anger of the people. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazimi confirmed that the leaders of the political forces agreed on the necessity of inviting the Sadrist movement to engage in the national dialogue, while the leader of the Wisdom Movement, Ammar al-Hakim, arrived in Saudi Arabia.

In the Sadrist movement's first comment on the Political Forces Conference that took place yesterday, Wednesday, the leader of the Sadrist movement, Saleh Muhammad al-Iraqi, said that the dialogue session that the Sadrist movement was absent from resulted in some unimportant points that increased the anger of the people, as he put it.

He added - in a statement - that most of those who attended the conference tried to minimize the revolution and ignore its demands.

The statement warned against provoking the anger of the Iraqi street and the policy of intimidation from the democratic process pursued by some, according to him.

Al-Jazeera correspondent in Baghdad said that observers described the statement as important, as it did not include an explicit rejection of the outcomes of the dialogue, which they considered a positive development in progress towards a solution to the crisis.

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— Minister of Commander - Saleh Muhammad Al-Iraqi (@salih_m_iraqi) August 18, 2022

The results of the meeting

Yesterday, Wednesday, a meeting of the National Dialogue was held in Baghdad, which the government called for to resolve the crisis. The conferees agreed that dissolving parliament and holding new legislative elections is an inevitable option.

The agreement also stipulated setting a date for the elections to be agreed upon later with the participation of the Sadrist movement.

The parties also agreed on the necessity of postponing the discussion of the mechanisms of forming a new government and a new electoral commission, and amending the election law, especially since these issues require discussion and approval of the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, to join the national dialogue.

The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Al-Kazemi, Iraqi President Barham Salih, Parliament Speaker Muhammad Al-Halbousi, as well as leaders and leaders of political forces, the head of the Supreme Judicial Council Faiq Zeidan, and the UN envoy to Iraq Hennis Blackshart, while Muqtada al-Sadr, whose deputies continue to sit in Parliament, were absent from him. .

statement


....

The presidencies met with the leaders of the Iraqi national political forces at the invitation of the Prime Minister @MAKadhimi, today Wednesday 17 August 2022;

To discuss political developments in the country, in the presence of the representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Iraq.

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— Media Office of the Prime Minister 🇮🇶 (@IraqiPMO) August 17, 2022

Sadr's call for dialogue

After the meeting, the Prime Minister's Media Office said that the meeting concluded the need to invite the Sadrist movement "to engage in the national dialogue, to put in place mechanisms for a comprehensive solution to the current crisis."

For his part, Iraqi President Barham Salih said that dialogue is a top priority to address the political crisis the country is going through.

Saleh stressed, during his meeting with a group of heads and representatives of Iraqi unions and federations, the importance of developing a road map for clear solutions that preserve the interests of the country and citizens, stressing the need for dialogue for a quick solution to the existing political crisis.

Hakim in Saudi Arabia

Meanwhile, Ammar Al-Hakim arrived in Saudi Arabia, and was received by Walid Al-Khuraiji, Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, hours after he attended the conference of Iraqi political forces.

It has not yet been announced if this visit is linked to political discussions about the crisis in forming a government in Iraq.

And Iraqi media circulated unofficial news that Al-Hakim will meet during his stay in the Kingdom with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

A statement by Saleh al-Iraqi, a Sadrist leader, criticized al-Hakim's visit to Saudi Arabia without mentioning his name, and said, "If we were the perpetrators, they would have said that the dialogue session was under pressure from outside and a notice from the normalizers and the Americans and the like."

The sit-in continues

Supporters of both the Sadrist movement and the coordination framework continue their sit-ins in the vicinity of the Iraqi parliament, inside the Green Zone, in central Baghdad, and at the suspension bridge leading to it.

The followers of the Sadrist movement continue their sit-in for the third week, to demand the dissolution of Parliament and the holding of early parliamentary elections, and the sit-in of the followers of the coordination framework that they started last Friday at one of the entrances to the Green Zone, continues to demand respect for the constitution and defense of the state.

Two days ago, the leader of the Sadrist movement announced - in a statement - the postponement of the demonstrations next Saturday until further notice, in order to thwart what he called the malicious schemes that bet on the "civil war."

He stressed that the people will continue their sit-in until their demands are achieved, and demanded that the protests be kept peaceful, he said.