Iraqi protesters storm parliament building for the second time this week

Middle East, News July 31, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Supporters of Iraq’s Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr stormed the Iraqi parliament for the second time this week as they recorded their protest against the nominations of the country’s new Prime Minister.

At least 125 people were left injured after a demonstration that took place in Iraq’s capital Baghdad on July 30. The protesters barged into the parliament building escalating the intensity of Iraq’s political standoff.

Thousands of protesters rallied in Baghdad on the call of Iraqi Shia leader and head of the Sadrist Movement, Muqtada al-Sadr. The protest was called against the nomination of Mohammed al-Sudani, a former minister and ex-provincial governor, who is a candidate for the Prime Minister’s office in Iraq from the pro-Iran Coordination Framework Party.

The protesters broke barriers to enter the Green Zone, which houses the government buildings as well as foreign missions and embassies. The protesters threw stones while police fired teargas rubber bullets. Earlier, the same group of protesters stormed the parliament after breaking into the Green Zone on July 27.

A vote to appoint al-Sudani was supposed to take place in the parliament on the same day as the protests, however, the session was called off following a similar incident that took place earlier this week. No lawmakers were present in the building of the parliament during the time of the protests.

Ten months have passed since the elections took place in the oil-rich country of Iraq, but the process of a government building has been stalled and delayed due to the ongoing political deadlock.

Al-Sadr’s bloc won 73 out of 329 seats in the general elections in October 2021 and emerged as one of the largest groups in terms of parliament seats. None of the parliamentary parties were able to negotiate with each other to reach a two-thirds majority to appoint the president, an important step before the prime minister is appointed.

*^{Protesters try to remove concrete barriers to cross the bridge toward the Green Zone area in Baghdad on July 30, 2022. (Image Credit: Ali Abdul Hassan/AP)}*

Al-Sadr withdrew from the political process in June 2022 citing the stall in the process of a new government building. Al-Sadr stated that he “will not participate in the next elections if the corrupt participate.” Al-Sadr’s cousin Jaafar al-Sadr also withdrew his nomination as the Prime Minister which opened the way for the Coordination Framework to nominate Muhammad al-Sudani, an Iran-backed alliance of Shia political parties in Iraq.

Since his withdrawal from the political system, al-Sadr has stirred up popular unrest through mass mobilization in Iraq by stating that Iraq’s foreign policy should be independent and free of any external influence – Iran and the United States.

During the first protest at the parliament earlier this week, the protesters left the building after al-Sadr issued a statement on Twitter telling his followers that their message had been received and they should “return safely” to their homes. Al-Sadr has a strong Shia following in Iraq. He has emerged as one of the most powerful forces with a nationalist and predominantly anti-Iran agenda.