ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The alliance between the New Generation Movement (NGM) and the Emtidad Movement called on Iraq’s independent MPs to present candidates for the positions of the country’s president and prime minister during a press conference on Monday, stating that they would be willing to file a lawsuit against MPs who continue to obstruct the process of forming Iraq’s new government.
Known as the For the People Alliance, the alliance between the Kurdish NGM and Iraqi Emtidad Movement encouraged the independent members of Iraq’s parliament to select a candidate for the country’s presidency as well as a candidate for the prime minister position, under a number of conditions, in a statement on Monday.
The alliance stipulated four conditions for the independent MPs’ candidate for the PM post, requesting first that the candidate, and his cabinet, should have no records of any corruption charges and must be of Iraqi nationality and not dual-citizenship holders. They added that the candidate must present a “realistic” program for the government, and one that responds to the needs of the Iraqi people.
They stipulated that the candidate must have no relations to any former ruling parties nor have ever been a part of a previous consensus government, adding that all political parties and independent sides must “promise” to not interfere in the affairs of the elected PM and his cabinet.
The alliance expressed their wishes to communicate with all independent MPs, stating that they were ready to “support the formation of a government with any independent party, without our involvement in it.” For the People Alliance have repeatedly stressed their intention not to be part of a consensus government.
They also added that if the political deadlock were to continue, they would file a lawsuit to withhold the salaries of “absentee MPs” who have obstructed the election of the president by boycotting the parliamentary sessions.
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Wednesday called on the parliament’s independent MPs to form a new government without Sadrist ministers, after the Coordination Framework released an 18-points initiative earlier that day, calling on the independent MPs to present candidates for the prime minister position.
Following a meeting in Erbil on Monday, the tripartite alliance, consisting of the Sadrist bloc, the Sunni Sovereignty Alliance, and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), released a statement saying that they’re “open to any political forces that believe in a national majority government,” adding that they have been in continuous communication with the independent MPs since the announcement of Sadr’s initiative.
The Iran-backed Coordination Framework and their allies insist on a new government being set up based on political consensus; an idea which has been repeatedly opposed by the tripartite alliance, also known as the Save the Homeland Alliance, who are attempting to form a national majority government.
Tuesday marks seven months since Iraq’s early elections in October, yet the country still hasn’t been able to form a new government. The Iraqi parliament has so far failed on three different occasions to select a new president of the country, due to not reaching the legal quorum needed to hold the vote. For the People Alliance were one of the blocs that boycotted the third session.
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