Prospective prime minister leaves Iraqi protesters, some parliamentarians dissatisfied

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The nomination of a candidate belonging to the political establishment for the position of Iraq’s prime minister is doing little to quell the discontent of the public and some parliamentarians, as time to appoint a successor to Adil Abdul-Mahdi begins to run out.

According to national constitution decree, President Barham Salih has three days left to appoint a prime minister, who will form the new governmental cabinet.

Among those in contention for the role is Mohammed Shiya al-Sudani, a former senior leader of the Dawa party. He was put forward as a candidate for the premiership last week by the country’s two largest Iran-affiliated parties - the State of Law coalition, led by former Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki, and Hadi al-Ameri’s al-Fatih coalition.

Sudani is a long-serving member of Iraqi parliament. Appointed governor of the southern Iraqi province of Misan for a year in 2009, he then became Minister of Human Rights in Maliki’s cabinet from 2010 to 2014. He was Minister of Labour and Social Affairs between 2014 and 2017, during the premiership of Haider al-Abadi.

His candidacy is proving a hard sell to Iraqi protesters, who begun to take to the streets of central and southern Iraq in October to call for an end to corruption, improved provision of basic services, and an overhaul of Iraq’s system of governance.

Met with deadly repression, more than 500 protesters and members of the security forces have been killed since October 1; at least 17,000 have been wounded.

In a statement read aloud on Friday, protesters in Tahrir Square refused the candidacy of Sudani, or anyone else nominated for Prime Minister by political parties.

Shiite political parties appear divided regarding Sudani’s candidacy.

The Sayirun coalition, headed by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, has rejected Sudani’s potential tenure of premiership. In a call similar to that of the protesters, it refuses to back any future candidate for the position nominated by a political party.

In an open letter, Sayirun MP Sabah al-Saaidi called on President Salih to “side with the nation’s demand” and refuse any candidate nominated by political parties.

“Today it is your responsibility to…not assign any person that the political parties suggest, as people rose up against those political parties and their corruption and failure, as well as against their presence in the Iraqi government,” Saaidi wrote in the letter published on his official Facebook account on Saturday.

Sudani’s nomination has, however, garnered some support among the political establishment.

Ahmed al-Jabouri, a Sunni member of parliament from Mosul, tweeted in support of Sudani’s candidacy.

“Nominating Mohammed Shiya al-Sudani for Iraqi Prime Minister position is a right choice…There are no corruption cases against him, he is very strong and decisive, and he has a vision for state administration,” Jabouri said on Saturday.

Ahmed Haji Rashid, head of the Kurdish Komal faction in Iraqi parliament, described Sudani as a “positive option” for the Kurds.

“Sudani is not a corrupt politician, he is an example of a good Iraqi politician,” Rashid told Rudaw on Saturday.

However, Rashid also said there is a fear that like Abdul-Mahdi, who as an independent candidate struggled to garner widespread parliamentary backing, Sudani “cannot satisfy the large political parties.”

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party (PUK) blocs – the two biggest blocs in Iraqi parliament - have yet to express their views on Sudani’s nomination.

Abdul-Mahdi was viewed as an ally by Kurdish officials, with relations between Baghdad and Erbil improving under his administration.

However, he stepped down on November 29, a year after coming to power, after a dramatic intervention by top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani.

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