ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The decision to start a dialogue to overcome the current political turmoil engulfing Iraq is in the hands of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, head of Nouri al-Maliki’s press office told Rudaw on Tuesday as calls for dialogue between political rivals mount.
"We support the means of dialogue and we issued a statement two days ago urging all parties to sit at the dialogue table to resolve the situation and find a way out of the existing political crisis," Hisham al-Rikabi said, hoping that the Sadrist Movement shares the Coordination Framework's desire to hold dialogue and hasten the formation of a government.
Rikabi added that the Coordination Framework is prepared to make concessions provided that all other parties are "willing to compromise for the sake of Iraq," affirming the State of Law's readiness to "discuss all controversial issues under the roof of the constitution."
The remarks come after the Sadrist Movement rejected dialogue with the framework, which became the largest coalition in the Iraqi parliament following the resignation of Sadr and his 73 MPs.
Thousands of supporters of the Iran-backed Coordination Framework took to the streets on Monday in counter-protests as Iraqis loyal to Sadr staged an open-ended sit-in at the Iraqi parliament in protest of the framework's nominee – Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani - for Iraqi premiership.
A figure close to Sadr on Tuesday called on followers to leave the parliament building and to move their protests outside.
Despite the dissatisfaction, Rikabi insisted that Sudani will remain the framework’s only pick for prime minister.
The political deadlock marks Iraq’s biggest crisis in years.
Rikabi said dissolving parliament and holding early elections has gained momentum in the framework and is “under discussion.”
The troubled country held snap elections in October due to anti-government protests, and the possibility of holding an early vote and parliament dissolution would be the second of its kind.
However, Rikabi noted that the Coordination Framework is still determined to form a "strong government capable of shouldering the burdens of responsibility and having a vision of solving all the problems it suffers from Iraqi PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, and other key figures from the framework have called for an end to the political deadlock, with Kadhimi warning it could have "dire consequences."
Barzani on Tuesday reiterated his calls for negotiations after having offered to host talks between Sadr and the framework, a gesture that was welcomed by the latter.
Rikabi also renewed calls on the top Kurdish political parties – the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) – to strike an agreement over a unified pick for the Iraqi presidency for the framework to then vote for him in the parliament.
Iraq's political impasse has reached unprecedented depths. The country is trapped in a suffocating political turmoil and currently experiencing a record period devoid of a cabinet at almost ten months.
.webp&w=3840&q=75)
