In the midst of the serious political crisis in Iraq, the influential Shia leader Moqtada Sadr has announced his “final” retirement from politics. “I have decided not to interfere in political affairs, so I am now announcing my final retirement,” Sadr said on Twitter on Monday. He will also close all institutions associated with his name and the name of his family, with few exceptions, Sadr announced.
Iraq has been in a political crisis for months. No new government has been formed since the parliamentary elections in October – partly because Sadr’s bloc is at odds with a pro-Iranian Shia group over who will nominate the next prime minister.
For nearly a month, Sadr’s supporters have occupied the area around Iraq’s parliament in Baghdad. Last week they briefly blocked access to the country’s highest court. On posters they called for the dissolution of parliament, new elections and the fight against corruption.
After Sadr announced his withdrawal, dozens of his supporters stormed the Palace of the Republic in Baghdad. Thousands more angry Sadr supporters headed towards the Iraqi capital’s heavily secured Green Zone, home to government buildings and embassies, an AFP reporter reported. The army imposed a curfew from 3:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. CEST).
Since the US-led invasion of 2003, Iraq has been governed by a sectarian system of proportional representation, with the prime minister’s office reserved for Shiites. The Sadr movement was the strongest force in October’s parliamentary elections, but was unable to form a majority. In June, Sadr’s MPs all resigned.
The dispute between the rival Shia groups intensified in late July after Sadr’s current rejected the candidate of the Tehran-backed alliance, the so-called Coordination Framework.
In early August, Sadr gave the Supreme Judicial Council a week to dissolve parliament. However, the judges did not agree to do so.
In mid-August, the incumbent Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi convened a crisis meeting of top politicians to seek a common solution. However, it was boycotted by Sadr’s camp.
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