Iraqis Fear Unrest if Parliament Fails to Elect President on Saturday

A general view of the Iraqi parliament during a meeting in the capital Baghdad. (AFP)
A general view of the Iraqi parliament during a meeting in the capital Baghdad. (AFP)
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Iraqis Fear Unrest if Parliament Fails to Elect President on Saturday

A general view of the Iraqi parliament during a meeting in the capital Baghdad. (AFP)
A general view of the Iraqi parliament during a meeting in the capital Baghdad. (AFP)

Tensions have spiked in Iraq on the eve of a parliamentary session dedicated to elect a new president.

Concerns have mounted that the failure to elect a president for a second time could lead to violence in a country that is sharply divided between rival camps, namely the Shiite Sadrist movement, headed by cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and the Shiite pro-Iran Coordination Framework.

In a bid to ease the tensions, the Sadrist movement, Kurdish Democratic Party and Sunni Sovereignty alliance announced the formation of the "Nation's Salvation" alliance.

Former Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, a member of the Framework, congratulated Sadr, KDP chief Masoud Barzani and parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi on the formation of the alliance.

Other members of the Framework adopted a different tone. The media was flooded with warnings and threats by the remaining members of the Framework and its armed factions against the alliance should it go ahead with the election on Saturday and the nomination of its candidate, the Kurdistan Region’s Interior Minister Reber Ahmed.

No sooner was the Salvation alliance announced, that the Framework dismissed its ability in securing the needed quorum of two-thirds of lawmakers to hold the elections.

Head of the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq Qais Khazali insisted that the Framework had the "blocking third" power in parliament that could obstruct its decisions.

Abou Ali al-Askari, a figure close to the Kataeb Hizballah, launched a scathing attack against Halbousi, whom he described as a "clown". He warned him against approving the "separatist" candidate, a reference to Ahmed.

In a tweet on Thursday, he called on the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and "resistance" factions in western Iraq to "redeploy accordingly to confront the threats."

The members of the Framework believe the Salvation alliance to be a new "gimmick" in Iraqi politics aimed at marginalizing Shiites, who make up the majority of the population, and depriving them of naming the prime minister, the country's top executive post.

Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki criticized the Salvation alliance. He said the norm in Iraq was for the president to be Kurdish, parliament speaker to be Sunni and the premier Shiite. The prime minister would be named by the largest parliamentary bloc.

This time around, however, "our partners formed alliances with the Kurds and Sunnis," he noted.

Sadr and his supporters believe that such an alliance will help rid the country of sectarian squabbling over power and state positions.



Sudan’s Ruling Council Reshuffles Cabinet amid Brutal Conflict

A damaged building in Omdurman, Sudan, 01 November 2024 (issued 04 November 2024). (EPA)
A damaged building in Omdurman, Sudan, 01 November 2024 (issued 04 November 2024). (EPA)
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Sudan’s Ruling Council Reshuffles Cabinet amid Brutal Conflict

A damaged building in Omdurman, Sudan, 01 November 2024 (issued 04 November 2024). (EPA)
A damaged building in Omdurman, Sudan, 01 November 2024 (issued 04 November 2024). (EPA)

Sudan's army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, at war with paramilitaries, has announced a cabinet reshuffle that replaces four ministers including those for foreign affairs and the media.

The late Sunday announcement comes with the northeast African country gripped by the world's worst displacement crisis, threatened by famine and desperate for aid, according to the UN.

In a post on its official Facebook page, Sudan's ruling sovereignty council said Burhan had approved replacement of the ministers of foreign affairs, the media, religious affairs and trade.

The civil war that began in April 2023 pits Burhan's military against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries under the command of his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

Since then, the army-aligned Sudanese government has been operating from the eastern city of Port Sudan, which has largely remained shielded from the violence.

But the Sudanese state "is completely absent from the scene" in all sectors, economist Haitham Fathy told AFP earlier this year.

The council did not disclose reasons behind the reshuffle but it coincides with rising violence in al-Gezira, south of the capital Khartoum, and North Darfur in Sudan's far west bordering Chad.

On Friday the spokesman for United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said he condemned attacks by the RSF on Gezira, after the United States made a similar call over the violence against civilians.

Among the key government changes, Ambassador Ali Youssef al-Sharif, a retired diplomat who previously served as Sudan's ambassador to China and South Africa, was appointed foreign minister.

He replaces Hussein Awad Ali who had held the role for seven months.

Journalist and TV presenter Khalid Ali Aleisir, based in London, was named minister of culture and media.

The reshuffle also saw Omar Banfir assigned to the trade ministry and Omar Bakhit appointed to the ministry of religious affairs.

Over the past two weeks, the RSF increased attacks on civilians in Gezira following the army's announcement that an RSF commander had defected.

According to an AFP tally based on medical and activist sources, at least 200 people were killed in Gezira last month alone. The UN reports that the violence has forced around 120,000 people from their homes.

In total, Sudan hosts more than 11 million displaced people, while another 3.1 million are now sheltering beyond its borders, according to the International Organization for Migration.