The months-long political impasse has intensified as Muqtada al-supporters Sadr's have set up tents and are getting ready for a protracted sit-in at the Iraqi parliament.
After the October elections failed to result in the formation of a government, followers of the fiery al-Sadr forced their way into the legislative chamber for the second time in two days on Saturday.In a brief message to journalists, al-organization Sadr's said: "The protesters proclaim a sit-in till further notice." State news agency INA reported the statement.
Despite extensive negotiations between groups, Iraq remains without a new government nearly ten months after the October elections.
Since the 2003 war led by the United States deposed Saddam Hussein, complicated discussions have been required to form the new government in the oil-rich nation.
Supporters of Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the candidate for prime minister of a rival Shia coalition that is pro-Iran, are opposed to al-Sadr, who formerly headed a militia against US and Iraqi government forces.Traditionally, a member of Iraq's Shia majority holds the position.One demonstrator, Sattar al-Aliawi, a 47-year-old government worker, declared, "We don't want Mr. Sudani."
He declared he would "sleep here" in the gardens of parliament as a form of protest against "a corrupt and inept administration." The parties that have ruled the nation for 18 years have received a complete rejection from the people, he claimed.
The protesters celebrated the Muslim month of Muharram on Sunday morning with religious chants and a group feast."We had high hopes, but the worst happened instead. We have received nothing from the politicians who are currently in power, claimed 45-year-old Abdelwahab al-Jaafari.
Volunteers gave the demonstrators soup, hard-boiled eggs, bread, and water.Some others slept overnight inside the parliament that night, spreading blankets across the marble flooring. Others settled in the gardens, perched beneath palm trees on plastic mats.Al-coalition Sadr's won the most seats in the parliament during the elections in October, but it fell far short of a majority, creating the nation's longest political void since 2003.
In an effort to pressure his adversaries into hastening the formation of a government, al-73 Sadr's parliamentarians resigned from their positions in June.
As a result, a pro-Iran coalition gained the majority in parliament, but no new prime minister, president, or cabinet was chosen.
Three days had passed since al-Sadr supporters broke through the Green Zone and invaded the legislature on Wednesday before the protest on Saturday.
Iraq is currently experiencing its worst crisis in years. In 2017, the ISIL (ISIS) organization that had taken control of a third of Iraq was defeated by Iraqi forces, a US-led coalition, and Iranian military assistance.Iraqis who were suffering from a lack of jobs and services two years later came to the streets to demand new elections, an end to corruption, and the ouster of all parties—especially the potent Shia groups—that have ruled the nation since 2003.
Al-Sadr is still riding the tide of public resistance to his Iran-backed competitors, claiming that they are corrupt and work for Tehran rather than Baghdad.
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