2021–2022 Iraqi political crisis

Last updated

2021–2022 Iraqi political crisis
Part of Iraq Conflict
Baghdad Convention Center.jpg
The Baghdad Convention Center, home of the Iraqi Parliament
Date
  • 5 November 2021 – 27 October 2022
  • (nearly a full year)
Location
Iraq
Caused by
Resulted inNew president elected 13 October 2022;
new government approved 27 October 2022. [1] [2]
Lead figures
Casualties
Death(s)53 killed [3]
Injuries1,080 injured [4]

Between the parliamentary election in October 2021 and October 2022, there was a political crisis in Iraq, with members of the Council of Representatives of Iraq being unable to form a stable coalition government, or elect a new President. [5] Basic government services such as the civil service and military continued functioning, but the national political system was in deadlock including in respect of almost all major spending and taxation issues. [6] On 27 October 2022, the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani was approved by the Council of Representatives. [1] [2]

Contents

Events

2021

Violent clashes in Baghdad following the election and the attempted assassination of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi began the crisis. [7] On 18 November Muqtada al-Sadr said he would like to form a majority government. [8]

2022

On 9 January, the newly elected parliament met for the first time in the Green Zone to elect the parliament speaker and two deputies. This first parliamentary session resulted in senior interim parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashahadani falling ill and being taken to hospital. [9] Sunni lawmaker and current parliament speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi was re-elected for a second term, [10] with deputies Shakhawan Abdulla from the Kurdistan Democratic Party and Hakim al-Zamili from the Sadrist Movement. [11] Thus, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Sadrist Movement and Progress Party succeeded in filling those three positions due to the candidates of each bloc voting for each other. [11] This resulted in the Shiite Pro-Iran factions in parliament to disregard the outcome and boasting they have 88 seats, [12] which is more than the Sadrist Movement. Parliament was then temporarily suspended but later was able to resume again after a review by the Iraqi Supreme Court. [13]

According to the Constitution of Iraq a president must be selected within 30 days after the election of the parliament speaker. [14] Incumbent Barham Salih was put forward by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to run for a second term, while the Kurdistan Democratic Party selected former foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari to run for the post as the party's second putting forward of a president to the required parliamentary vote. [14]

On 13 June 2022, all 73 MPs from al-Sadr's bloc resigned from parliament. [15] [16] On 23 June, the Council of Representatives swore in 73 new members in their place. [17] As a result, the Coordination Framework bloc, an alliance of Iran-backed parties led by Nouri al-Maliki, grew to 130 seats. [18]

On 17 July, secret recordings were leaked of Nouri al-Maliki, the former Prime Minister, in which he was criticising al-Sadr. This was reported to have been controversial and a factor in deepening the crisis. [19]

On 25 July, the framework nominated former minister and governor of Maysan Governorate Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani as prime minister. [20]

On 27 July, angry about the influence of Iran in Iraqi domestic governance, followers of al-Sadr breached the Green Zone and the Iraqi Parliament in Baghdad. After a public message by al-Sadr to "pray and go home," the crowd dispersed. [21] Thousands of supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr had been camping in the parliament building since July 27. [22]

On 3 August, Muqtada al-Sadr called for snap elections. [23]

On 29 August, Sadr announced via a tweet his retirement from political life. Later that day, his supporters stormed the presidential palace and armed clashes inside the Green Zone ensued, resulting in the deaths of at least 15 protesters. [24] The Iraqi Army announced a nationwide curfew. Protests and clashes also erupted in Basra and Maysan Governorate in southern Iraq. [24]

On 30 August, fighting spread to Karbala and escalated in Basra as demonstrators stormed the Iraqi parliamentary office in Karbala [25] and blocked the entrance to Umm Qasr port. [26]

On approximately 5 September the second round of negotiations ended, leaving further talks required to agree on any selection for the key ratificatory and head of state role of president and to agree a working coalition, key-issues confidence and supply arrangement between the parties or to the fresh elections the Prime Minister continues to seek. [27]

After more talks between the political parties, on 13 October, the Iraqi Parliament gathered once again and elected Abdul Latif Rashid as the country's new president. He won after winning 230 votes in the parliament beating incumbent Barham Salih. This election marked the beginning of the end of the deadlock as Rashid then tasked Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani with forming the government to become prime minister. [28] Although offered by various figures, Sadr said he would not partake in this new government led by al-Sudani. [29]

On 27 October 2022, the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani, from the party 'Coordination Framework', was approved by the Council of Representatives. [1] [2] In his acceptance speech ahead of the final vote, Al Sudani stated that "corruption" had caused "many economic problems, (…) increasing poverty, unemployment, and poor public services". [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

Iraq is a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic. It is a multi-party system whereby the executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers as the head of government, the President of Iraq as the head of state, and legislative power is vested in the Council of Representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prime Minister of Iraq</span> Head of government of the Republic of Iraq

The Prime Minister of Iraq is the head of government of Iraq. On 27 October 2022, Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani became the incumbent prime minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muqtada al-Sadr</span> Iraqi Shia scholar, politician and militia leader (born 1974)

Muqtada al-Sadr is a Shiite cleric, Iraqi politician and militia leader. He is the leader of the Sadrist Movement and the leader of the Peace Companies, a successor to the militia he had previously led during the American military presence in Iraq, the "Mahdi Army." In 2018, he joined his Sadrist political party to the Saairun alliance, which won the highest number of seats in the 2018 and 2021 Iraqi parliamentary elections. Al-Sadr is suspected in US news media of having ordered the assassination of rivalling Shia leader Abdul-Majid al-Khoei in 2003, a charge he denies and which remains unproven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peace Companies</span> Iraqi Shia armed group led by Muqtada al-Sadr

The Peace Companies are an Iraqi armed group linked to Iraq's Shia community. They are a 2014 revival of the Mahdi Army that was created by the Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in June 2003 and disbanded in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council of Representatives of Iraq</span> Legislature of Iraq

The Council of Representatives, usually referred to simply as the Parliament, is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, it is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the country. As of 2020, it comprises 329 seats and meets in Baghdad inside the Green Zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammad-Sadiq al-Sadr</span> Iraqi Twelver Shia cleric (1943–1999)

Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Muhammad-Sadiq al-Sadr was a prominent Iraqi Shia marja'. He called for government reform and the release of detained Shia leaders. The growth of his popularity, often referred to as the followers of the Vocal Hawza, also put him in competition with other Shi'a leaders, including Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim who was exiled in Iran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sadrist Movement</span> Political party in Iraq

The Sadrist Movement is an Iraqi Shi'a Islamic national movement and political party, led by Muqtada al-Sadr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Sadr Online</span>

Al-Sadr Online was the official website of the High Board for Media of Al-Sadr's Office. The High Board is the media organization of Muqtada Al-Sadr, a Shia Muslim Iraqi religious and political leader. The site, which commenced operation in 2007, performs several functions in support of Sadrist objectives. The site's distinct format includes a section in which Al-Sadr offers religious opinions in response to queries from site followers. Al-Sadr Online publishes news about Sadrist political, social, and religious activities in southern Iraq and the Arab world. In addition, the Board's staff also posts commentary on issues pertaining to Iraqi and pan-Arab politics as well as some international news. The site posts numerous links to pages of organizations sympathetic to the Sadrist Movement, many of which are based in Iran and Lebanon. Al-Sadr Online posts most of its content in Arabic, though it does maintain a less robust English page.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani</span> Prime minister of Iraq

Mohammed Shia’Sabbar Al-Sudani is an Iraqi politician who is serving as the Prime Minister of Iraq since 27 October 2022. He was the Human Rights Minister of Iraq in the Council of Ministers of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki from 2010 until October 2014. He was the Governor of Maysan Province between 2009 and 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Ahrar Bloc</span> Political party in Iraq

The Al-Ahrar Bloc is an Iraqi Shia Islamist political coalition formed for the 2014 Iraqi parliamentary election. It is headed by Dia Najem Abdallah al-Asadi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dia al-Asadi</span>

Dhiaa Najm Abdullah Al-Asadi is an Iraqi academic, politician and head of the Al-Ahrar Bloc in parliament, the second largest parliamentary bloc in the Iraqi Parliament after the 2014 Iraqi parliamentary election. The Al-Ahrar Bloc is considered a Sadrist Movement with cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as its spiritual leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Iraq (2011–present)</span>

The departure of US troops from Iraq in 2011 ended the period of occupation that had begun with the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. The time since U.S. withdrawal has been marked by a renewed Iraqi insurgency and by a spillover of the Syrian civil war into Iraq. By 2013, the insurgency escalated into a renewed war, the central government of Iraq being opposed by ISIL and various factions, primarily radical Sunni forces during the early phase of the conflict. The war ended in 2017 with an Iraqi government and allied victory, however ISIL continues a low-intensity insurgency in remote parts of the country.

On 7 July 2016, at least 56 people were killed and 75 injured after a group of attackers stormed the Mausoleum of Sayid Mohammed bin Ali al-Hadi, a Shia holy site in Balad, Iraq. The attackers included suicide car bombers, suicide bombers on foot, and several gunmen. They attacked Shia pilgrims celebrating Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. There were three suicide bombers, and one of them was killed by security personnel. There were other attackers too. ISIL also launched several mortars into the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Iraqi parliamentary election</span> Parliamentary elections held in Iraq

Parliamentary elections were held in Iraq on 12 May 2018. The elections decided the 329 members of the Council of Representatives, the country's unicameral legislature, who in turn will elect the Iraqi president and prime minister. The Iraqi parliament ordered a manual recount of the results on 6 June 2018. On 10 June 2018, a storage site in Baghdad housing roughly half of the ballots from the May parliamentary election caught fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fatah Alliance</span> Political coalition in Iraq

The Fatah Alliance, also sometimes translated as the Conquest Alliance, is a political coalition in Iraq formed to contest the 2018 general election. The main components are groups involved in the Popular Mobilization Forces which is mainly a state-sponsored umbrella organization made up of Iraqi Shiite Muslims who fought from 2014 to 2017 alongside the Iraqi Army to defeat ISIL. It is led by Hadi Al-Amiri, the leader of the Badr Organization.

Jaafar Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr is an Iraqi politician with the Shiite Islamist Islamic Dawa Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaysh al-Mu'ammal</span> Shia Islamist Iraqi private militia

Jaysh al-Mu'ammal, also known as Liwa al-Mu'ammal or as the Popular Mobilization Forces' 99th Brigade, is a Shia Islamist Iraqi private militia that is led by Sa'ad Sawar and has fought in the Syrian Civil War and Iraqi Civil War. Founded as a splinter faction of the Sadrist Movement, Jaysh al-Mu'ammal is supported by Iran and former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015–2018 Iraqi protests</span> Protests starting in July 2015

Occasional protests took place in Iraq during the years 2015–2018, in Baghdad and more southern Iraqi cities like Najaf, Nasriyah and Basra, over state corruption and political paralysis and deadlock, poverty, unemployment, power shortages, water shortages around Basra, failing public services, etc..

On 27 July 2022, hundreds of Iraqi demonstrators supporting Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr stormed the Council of Representatives of Iraq building located in the Green Zone in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. The storming, known as the "Ashura Revolution" or the "Muharram Revolution" by Sadrists, came after news was leaked about the nomination of Shiite forces opposed to the Sadrist movement, Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani, for the position of prime minister of Iraq.

The 2022 Baghdad clashes was a civil conflict between supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr and pro-Iranian forces following Sadr's announcement of his resignation from politics. The move came after the resignation of Grand Ayatollah Kadhim Al-Haeri, the leader of his Iran-based Sadrist movement, which Sadr believed wasn't of his own volition. The unrest was considered the most serious crisis in the country since the defeat of the Islamic State in the country in 2017, since which Iraq has had relative stability. The clashes left at least 30 people dead and 700 more injured, including 110 members of the security forces.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Iraqi parliament approves new government headed by Mohammed Shia al-Sudani". Reuters. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Coordination Framework nominate Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani as candidate for Iraqi prime minister". PUK media. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  3. ↑ Rasheed, Jillian Kestler-D'Amours,Zaheena. "Iraq's al-Sadr on hunger strike; protesters storm gov't palace". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  4. ↑ Rasheed, Jillian Kestler-D'Amours,Zaheena. "Iraq's al-Sadr on hunger strike; protesters storm gov't palace". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  5. ↑ "Iraqi PM stresses inciting violence and chaos unacceptable". Iraqi News. 14 June 2022. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  6. ↑ "Iraqi MPs from Muqtada al-Sadr's bloc resign". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  7. ↑ "Iraq ministry: Scores injured in rally over election results". WTOP. 5 November 2021. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  8. ↑ Staff writer (18 November 2021). "Sadr calls for majority government, 'liquidation' of Iraqi militias". Al-Monitor . Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  9. ↑ Staff writer (9 January 2022). "Iraq parliament holds first session, elects speaker". devdiscourse.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  10. ↑ "Halbousi re-elected speaker of parliament during chaotic first session". Rudaw. 9 January 2022. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  11. 1 2 "KDP puts forth candidate for deputy parliament speaker". Rudaw. 10 January 2022. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  12. ↑ "Shiite factions disregard outcome of Iraqi parliament's first session". Rudaw. 11 January 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  13. ↑ "Iraq's top court to review cases against first parliamentary session on Wednesday". Rudaw. 16 January 2022. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  14. 1 2 "Battle opens for presidency in Iraq". 2 February 2022. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  15. ↑ "Iraqi leaders vow to move ahead after dozens quit parliament". The Independent. 13 June 2022. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  16. ↑ "War-scarred Iraq sinks deeper into political crisis". Agence France-Presse. 14 June 2022. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  17. ↑ "Iraq Parliament Swears in New Members After Walkout of 73". 23 June 2022. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  18. ↑ "In numbers... the coordination framework has become the "first force" in the Iraqi parliament" (in Arabic). Alhurra. 23 June 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  19. ↑ "Secret recordings deepen political crisis in Iraq". France 24. 16 July 2022. Archived from the original on 20 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  20. ↑ "Coordination Framework nominate Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani as candidate for Iraqi prime minister". PUK media. 25 July 2022. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  21. ↑ "Iraqi protesters storm the parliament in Baghdad's Green Zone". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  22. ↑ "Hundreds of protesters camp at Iraq parliament for a second day". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  23. ↑ "'Dissolve the parliament': Influential Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr calls for fresh elections in Iraq". WION. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  24. 1 2 Abdul-Zahra, Qassim; Kullab, Samya (29 August 2022). "Clashes erupt after Iraqi Shiite cleric resigns, 15 dead". Associated press. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  25. ↑ عاجل متظاهرون يقتحمون مكتب مجلس النواب في محافظة #كربلاء #العراق (in Arabic), telegram: Al Jazeera Mubasher, 29 August 2022
  26. ↑ مسؤول أمني عراقي يؤكد إغلاق أنصار الصدر لمداخل ميناء (in Arabic), Twitter: Al Arabiya, 29 August 2022
  27. ↑ "No end to crisis as Iraq's PM ends second round of talks". Yahoo News . 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  28. ↑ "Latif Rashid elected president of Iraq (13 Oct 2022)". Rudaw English . Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  29. ↑ "Sadr movement decides to boycott PM-designate's cabinet (15 Oct 2022)". Rudaw English . Retrieved 14 October 2022.
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