Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani managed to avert a new wave of protests that were on the verge of erupting in central and southern provinces, said several local observers.
Leader of Iraq’s Ansar al-Marjaiya faction Hamid al-Yasiri had last week called for protests against corruption to be held in the city of Samawah in the southern al-Muthanna province.
He also called on Sudani to “dispatch” an honest military ruler to run al-Muthanna.
Iraqi people in under-serviced regions have started to complain of power cuts as temperatures start to soar in the country. Al-Muthanna is Iraq’s least populated and most impoverished, with nearly 50 percent of the population living in poverty, according to official figures.
Sudani received on Sunday Yasiri and 20 academic and tribal figures from al-Muthanna to discuss their concerns.
A statement from the PM’s office said the delegation explained the state of affairs in the province, the performance of the local government, rampant corruption and the high cost of projects.
Sudani stressed: “Restoring the trust of the people in the political process is among our most important challenges. The legitimacy of any political system lies in its ties to its people.”
In an apparent response to Yasiri’s request for the appointment of a military ruler in al-Muthanna, Sudani said: “The provincial councils were formed through elections and everyone must respect the choices of the people.”
The PM ordered the formation of a committee from the Commission of Integrity to visit al-Muthanna and follow up on complaints about corruption and the waste of public funds.
In his call for protests, Yasiri had demanded the “expulsion” of corrupt officials from office, namely the provincial governor and council, whom he said “don’t represent the masses and only work for their parties.”
In a statement after his meeting with Sudani, Yasiri said an agreement was reached to “form a committee from the PM’s office to oversee all projects in Samawah city and to prevent the governor and members of the provincial council from handling the funds.”
He said representatives of protests in al-Muthanna will oversee all projects in the provinces in line with an order that will be issued by the prime minister.
