In Baghdad, the internal Shia power struggle escalated further with the storming of parliament by supporters of the preacher Muqtada al-Sadr. They are preparing for a longer sit-in, said a spokesman for the 48-year-old Sadr on Sunday. He had called for the action as a protest against the nomination of Muhammad Shiyah al-Sudani for the post of Iraqi prime minister. At the beginning of last week, a pro-Iranian alliance in parliament nominated the confidante of the controversial former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
At temperatures of 47 degrees Celsius, several hundred mostly young Iraqis gained access to the well-guarded Green Zone on Saturday, in which important ministries and embassies are located next to the parliament. Despite the use of tear gas and water cannons by the security forces, they entered the parliament building where they spent the night. On Sunday they erected a tent city in the park in front of the parliament building and sang religious songs at the beginning of the month of mourning, Muharram, which is important for the Shiites.
Sadr supporters had already gathered in central Tahrir Square last Wednesday, from where they marched to the Green Zone. With the help of construction cranes, they destroyed concrete barricades and stormed the parliament building for the first time, albeit for a short time, where they protested, demanding a radical change in the political system in Iraq. That Wednesday, Iran’s Qods Forces Commander-in-Chief Esmail Qaani traveled to Baghdad to protect Iran’s interests.
Sadr shifted his power to the streets
The internal Shia power struggle between Sadr and Maliki has paralyzed Iraqi politics for years. The Shiites make up 60 percent of the Iraqi population and have been prime ministers since 2005. The popular preacher Sadr is considered an Iraqi nationalist who wants greater independence from Iran. From the last parliamentary election in October 2021, his movement emerged as the largest group with 73 seats. However, he did not find a majority for a government under his leadership among the 329 deputies. The pro-Iranian MPs prevented this with their blockade policy. Sadr had demanded that the pro-Iranian militias should stay away from politics in the future.
Pro-Iranian Maliki was prime minister from 2006 to 2014. His policy of marginalizing the Iraqi Sunnis is considered to be one of the main reasons for the rapid triumph of the Islamic State in the summer of 2014. Two weeks ago, an audio recording became known that ultimately led to his renunciation of a renewed claim to the office of prime minister. In the tape he threatened to use force to eliminate Sadr. Maliki denied the authenticity of the recording, but experts confirmed it.
In mid-June, Sadr made a surprising decision asking the 73 members of his movement to resign their mandates in order to secure a majority in parliament for the election of a new head of government. Since then, he has shifted his political power to the streets. It was only the nomination of Maliki confidant Sudani that sparked his anger. The pro-Iranian militias such as Asaib al-Haq and the People’s Mobilization welcomed Sudani’s nomination. Sadr, however, sent his followers to storm Parliament and prevent Sudani. There, on Sunday, they came across a list of ministers that Sudani apparently wants to appoint. Unlike in previous governments, only Shiite politicians can be found on it.
Ten months after the parliamentary elections, Iraq is still without a government. Apparently Sadr is relying on pressure from the streets to prevent his opponents from forming a government. His movement is now preparing protests in other major cities in the country. Sadr is benefiting from the Iraqis’ loss of confidence in the country’s political class. The reasons for this loss of confidence are the desolate economic situation, widespread corruption, in which Iraq is one of the world’s front runners, and the state’s failure to provide utilities. Widespread dissatisfaction erupted in nationwide protests in 2019 and 2020, which Sadr had fueled but which were violently put down.
