ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Sadr Movement announced on Saturday it will boycott the government of Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani who was tasked with forming a new cabinet on Thursday by the newly-elected president. After more than a year of political deadlock since the parliamentary elections in October 2021, the Iraqi parliament voted in Abdul Latif Rashid as the country’s new president, following a lengthy race with outgoing President Barham Salih. Rashid immediately tasked Sudani to form the new government. Salih Mohammed al-Iraqi, a figure close to Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the movement, said in a statement on Saturday that neither they nor anyone else affiliated to them will take part in Sudani’s cabinet. Al-Iraqi, who also acts like a spokesperson for the movement, announced Sadrists’ “categorical, clear and explicit rejection” to participate in the next cabinet led by its rival, Coordination Framework. The Sadrist Movement, which was the main winner of the latest elections, withdrew its parliamentarians after failing to reach a deal with the pro-Iran Coordination Framework.The movement also held a number of protests and sit-ins in Baghdad’s Green Zone, including at the parliament, calling for a snap election. Sadr has accused the current establishment of corruption and spoken against foreign intervention in the affairs of Iraq. "We recommend that Iraq not turn into a puppet of foreign agendas, that arms do not turn into loose hands, and that people's money does not turn into corrupt pockets and banks," al-Iraqi said.
