The Iran-backed Shiite parliamentary faction known as the Coordination Framework held their regular meeting on Monday to discuss the latest developments in Iraq’s political landscape, following the resignation of rival Sadrist bloc from the legislature on Sunday.
The speaker of the Iraqi parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi approved the resignation papers submitted by all 73 members of the Sadrist Movement on Sunday, following a letter from their leader Muqtada al-Sadr calling on the MPs of his bloc to resign from the parliament earlier that day.
“The [Coordination] Framework confirmed its continuation of the necessary steps to address the political crisis and to proceed with dialogues with all political forces to complete the constitutional dues and form a national service government,” read the statement from the faction, adding that it “had hoped to proceed with all the political forces, but it respected the decision of the Sadrist bloc to resign from the council of representatives.”
The Sadrist Movement emerged from October’s elections as the bloc with the highest number of seats in the parliament. The bloc was seeking to form a national majority government with its allies in the Save the Homeland Alliance - the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and the Sunni Sovereignty Alliance - but faced strong opposition from the Coordination Framework, who insisted on forming a more traditional government based on political consensus.
Related: A parliament without Sadrists, what is next?
On a visit to Jordan on Monday, Halbousi stated that "the presence of the Sadrist bloc in the political process is important," but added that the political process will proceed following their resignation, and that they will be replaced with “the top loser in each constituency,” stressing that the option to dissolve the parliament has not been raised as of yet.
The Coordination Framework is expected to gain the lion’s share of the Sadrists’ vacant seats, with a Shiite politician telling the Associated Press on Monday that he expects the framework to have more than 100 seats after the Sadrists’ withdrawal.
The Iraqi constitution dictates that the parliament may be dissolved by an absolute majority of the number of its members. The development comes as Iraq continues to be shrouded in political instability with the country yet to form its next government a staggering eight months following the October elections.
