Iraqi lawmakers from Muqtada Al-Sadr’s bloc resign

By Haydar Karaalp

BAGHDAD (AA) - Lawmakers from Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s bloc resigned from Iraq’s parliament Sunday in an apparent bid to end eight months of political deadlock.

Al-Sadr had urged members from his bloc, the biggest in parliament, to resign over the failure to form a new government in Iraq.

A short video posted on social media accounts affiliated with the Sadrist movement showed Hassan Al-Azari, the head of the parliamentary faction of the movement, submitting the letters of resignation of 75 deputies to Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, who approved and signed them.

Al-Sadr’s cousin, Mohammad Jaafar al-Sadr, who was the alliance’s candidate for the Iraqi premiership, also withdrew from the candidacy.

"I had accepted to be nominated for the national and reformist project of Muqtada al-Sadr. But it's time to withdraw," he announced on his social media account.

Muqtada al-Sadr had formed a tripartite alliance with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Masoud Barzani and a coalition of Sunni parliamentary groups, the Sovereignty Alliance, to form a government.

In Iraq’s general elections held in October 2021, the Sadrist movement came in first, securing 75 seats in the 329-seat parliament. However, disagreements between the Shiite umbrella organization close to Iran and Sadr on the formation of the government continue.

The current conflict between Shiite groups has led to a political paralysis in the country and the inability to form a new government.