Iraqi parliament suffers another occupation by al-Sadr supporters

New deep political crisis in Iraq. The Iraqi parliament has been stormed again by the followers of the powerful Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr in protest against the nomination of Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as prime ministerial candidate by the Coordination Framework, the political coalition that has a larger number of seats than Al-Sadr's camp in the Iraqi parliamentary seat and is heavily influenced by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

After the first occupation of the parliamentary seat located in Baghdad's Green Zone (the safest place in the Iraqi capital where most of the official institutions and foreign delegations are concentrated in a country that is experiencing great instability), carried out on Wednesday, the protagonists of the action, followers of the cleric Al-Sadr, decided to put an end to this offensive and vacate the House without major inconvenience. But now they have returned to the fray to continue defending their positions against the figure of Al-Sudani and the actions of the Coordination Framework, a political conglomerate influenced by Tehran and which includes members of the party of former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Al-Sadr's great rival, and the pro-Iranian Fatah movement. 

Muqtada al-Sadr won the elections in October 2021, but the margin of MPs he won was not enough and his supporters are now boycotting the process of nominating a figure like Al-Sudani as a candidate, who is part of a formation that is heavily influenced by Iran, Iran has been singled out by many international analysts for destabilising the Middle East and interfering in the internal affairs of other countries in the region through like-minded Shia groups, as is the case in Iraq itself, with the Popular Mobilisation Forces for example, in Lebanon, with Hezbollah, or in Yemen, with the Houthi rebels who participate in the Yemeni civil war to undermine the legitimately established government. 

This new action on the Iraqi parliament once again highlights the political deadlock in the Middle Eastern country's democracy and the lack of understanding between the different opposing sides, along with the obvious political tension, which is aggravated by the presence of Iran's shadow. A large part of the Iraqi population has also shown its weariness in recent years with protests and demonstrations against the Ayatollahs' regime and their interference, as well as against the level of corruption in the national political class. 

Iraqi security forces tried to confront the occupiers in the last hours, but, as happened last Wednesday in the previous occupation, they were unable to stop Al-Sadr's followers, who were finally able to penetrate the House to continue protesting against the candidacy for prime minister of Al-Sudani, proposed by Muqtada al-Sadr's political opponents and closely linked to Nuri al-Maliki, Al-Sadr's great political enemy. The assailants' intention on this second occasion was to stage a sit-in inside the parliament itself after taking it by force. "The people have decided to start a sit-in inside the parliament," announced one of the leaders of the Sadrist Movement, Al Said Ibrahim al-Jabri, on his Facebook account.

Ten months after the last elections, Iraq is still waiting for a new prime minister (Mustafa al-Kazemi is still acting head of government) and a new president. 

"All the people are with you, Sayyed Muqtada!" was one of the slogans shouted by supporters of the Shia leader, who is considered a descendant of Islam's prophet. "We are here for a revolution of reform (...) so that the people will be victorious and Sayyed Muqtada al-Sadr will be the leader," said Haydar al-Lami, a demonstrator, in words reported by the daily Le Monde and the AFP agency.

Hundreds of followers of Muqtada al-Sadr breached #Iraq’s parliament on Saturday, the second time in a week, to protest the government formation efforts lead by #Iran-backed groups.https://t.co/ERusSuCNi6

— Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) July 30, 2022

Also on Friday night, al-Sadr supporters attacked offices of Nuri al-Maliki's al-Daawa party in Baghdad, as well as the offices of the Shiite Al-Hikma party, of which Ammar al-Hakim, a member of the Coordination Framework, is a member, according to a security source, as reported by the daily Le Monde and the AFP agency.