AFP, published Friday 05 August 2022 at 15:26
Tens of thousands of Moqtada Sadr supporters held the traditional Friday prayers in the highly secure Green Zone in Baghdad, a new show of force by the influential politician on a bid to secure early parliamentary elections from his rivals under certain conditions.
After the prayer, a few hundred protesters returned to the outskirts of Parliament, which they have occupied since July 30 in the Green Zone, the luxurious, cordoned-off area in the heart of the capital that houses state institutions and embassies. They found the building empty and the doors closed, but the tented protesters continued their camp in the facility’s gardens, as the Sadrist movement had requested.
The sit-in was initiated to protest a candidacy for prime minister put forward by Mr Sadr’s opponents, the powerful pro-Iranian Shia factions of the Coordination Framework.
Moqtada Sadr used his ability to mobilize masses to call for the dissolution of parliament and early general elections less than a year after the election he won by a wide margin.
The Coordination Framework said it was open to snap elections and called for an end to the sit-in in Parliament.
On Friday, three weeks after an earlier prayer in Baghdad drew hundreds of thousands of people, huge crowds of Sadr supporters flocked to a sprawling esplanade in the Green Zone for traditional Muslim noon prayers.
The men – and some women – shaded themselves from the sun in the 46-degree heat with umbrellas, waving Iraqi flags and portraits of Sadr as they settled on their prayer rugs.
“Yes, yes to reforms,” ”No, no to corruption,” chanted the faithful.
– “Prisoner of the Corrupt” –
“We support the demands (…) of Sayyed Moqtada al-Sadr: the dissolution of parliament and the holding of early elections,” the Imam of Prayer, installed on a platform, started.
“Iraq is a prisoner of the corrupt,” he accused, and in his sermon castigated “the blatant deterioration in public services, health care and education.”
It doesn’t matter whether Moqtada Sadr also holds the highest ranks in the ministries, his supporters see him as a figure in the opposition and as a harbinger of the fight against corruption.
“When he wants to use the people for a cause, he calls for blessed Friday prayers and unites the ranks of Muslims,” said Sadr supporter Sheikh Ali al-Atabi, 38.
“It is a thorn in the side of the enemy to demand elections and reforms,” said another, Qassem Abou Moustafa, a 40-year-old official.
Ten months after parliamentary elections, Iraq is still awaiting the appointment of a new prime minister and president of the republic amid political strife.
The October 2021 vote was won by the Sadrist current, which, with 73 MPs, was the largest faction in a fragmented parliament where no camp managed to build a clear majority among the 329 elected.
After Sadr failed to secure a majority to appoint a prime minister, he forced his MPs to resign in June, leaving the task of forming a government to his opponents.
– “Will of the Masses” –
The dissolution of Parliament must be decided by an absolute majority and can be requested by a third of the deputies or by the Prime Minister with the consent of the President of the Republic.
Opponents of Mr Sadr, who has shaky ties with Shiite Iran, responded to him Thursday night.
“The Framework of Coordination reaffirms its support for all constitutional means of resolving political crises and acting in the interests of the people, including early elections,” the coalition said in a statement.
This alliance notably includes the former paramilitaries of Hachd al-Chaabi, who are integrated into the regular armed forces, and the party of former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
Parliament Speaker Mohamed al-halboussi tweeted his support for early elections, saying it was “impossible to ignore the will of the masses”.