Sadr Maintains Silence amid Dispute between Opponents, Allies

Iraqi protesters storm into the parliament building. (AFP)

Iraq's Sunni Sovereignty Alliance and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) announced that they were in favor of holding early elections, provided that they would be supervised by a government with full powers.

The head of Al-Sadrist Movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, had called on his allies to follow his step and withdraw from Parliament.

However, the recent decision of the two parties was seen by the forces of the Shiite Coordination Framework as an implicit support for their stance regarding holding elections and forming the next government, through a parliamentary session.

Al-Sadr, who did not respond to the announcement of his former allies, also ignored calls made by parties within the Coordination Framework about the importance of communicating with him to form a new government, amid differences that began to emerge within the ranks of the Framework forces.

Well-informed political sources noted that the undeclared truce imposed by Al-Arbaeen march to the city of Karbala, at the conclusion of the Ashura rituals, did not push the conflicting parties to resolve their dispute.

The forces of the Coordination Framework, which clashed with Sadr’s supporters in Baghdad’s Green Zone about two weeks ago, are not about to present any concession, especially with regards to dissolving Parliament or accepting that Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi supervise the early elections, along with President Barham Salih.

In an attempt to overcome the obstacle that prevents the appointment of a prime minister without electing a president, the Coordination Framework is seeking to persuade the two Kurdish parties (the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union) to resolve the node of the president’s election.

While Massoud Barzani, the leader of the KDP, found in Sadr’s call to keep Barham Salih an opportunity for a rapprochement with the Coordination Framework, the latter, which is already divided over the stance towards Sadr, is now witnessing internal divisions over the term of Salih and Kadhimi. This situation is further complicating efforts to reach a solution, amid fears of a resurgence of street clashes.