The Iraqi parliament's meeting on the election of the country's new president may take place in the coming days, a deputy from the State of Law Coalition, Jawad Ghazali, said on Monday
CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd October, 2022) The Iraqi parliament's meeting on the election of the country's new president may take place in the coming days, a deputy from the State of Law Coalition, Jawad Ghazali, said on Monday.
On October 1, demonstrators in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad decided to halt massive anti-government protests in the city center, giving the authorities until October 25 to get out of the political crisis. The protesters threatened to intensify protests otherwise and demanded a transitional government be formed under the auspices of the UN. According to media reports, over 150 people, both protesters and law enforcement officers, were injured during the demonstrations.
"The political process is moving in the right direction, we expect a consensus among the Kurdish parties on a single presidential candidate in order to finally resolve the issue of forming a government. In the coming days and before the protests (by October 25), an agreement will be reached on the date of the parliament meeting, where the president will be elected, and the completion of all other procedures," Ghazali said, as quoted by Iraqi broadcaster Al-Sumaria.
Iraq has been facing a political deadlock since the parliamentary elections in October 2021. Political bloc of Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr Al-Sadr won the elections but reverted to the opposition in May and stepped down in June after several unsuccessful attempts to form a government.
Al-Sadr's supporters resumed protests in Baghdad in late July, breaking into the parliament building and refusing to leave it. The protests were triggered by the nomination of Mohammed Sudani, another representative of Shiite parties in the Iraqi parliament except for Sadr's bloc, for the post of prime minister. In late August, al-Sadr called on his supporters to leave the government's "Green Zone" in the center of Baghdad and stop armed confrontation with security forces and Shiite militias that joined them.
Occasional demonstrations and skirmishes continue to take place, however, as Iraq remains plagued by economic crisis, unemployment and other issues.
