ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Shiite influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said on Friday that the members of his tripartite alliance for the formation of a new government in Baghdad have been threatened again.
“Once again some people threaten our allies and partners who have called for a national majority government … Stop threatening. I reaffirm that we will not give up and will not allow terror and corruption to control us,” said Sadr in a tweet without providing information about the alleged threats and those involved.
Hours later, Mohammed al-Halbsousi - who leads Sunnis in the tripartite alliance with Sadr and the largest Kurdish bloc, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) - said that they will not accept such threats.
“There are some incomplete attempts to violate the sovereignty and dignity of the state. We are not afraid of their weapons and do not accept their threats,” he said in a tweet.
Iraq held parliamentary elections on October 10. The parliamentarians elected the speaker of the legislature and his two deputies last month from the alliance, meaning Halbousi has held his position as the speaker of parliament.
According to a long-standing customary agreement, the three main leadership positions in the Iraqi government are divided among Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis. Kurds get the presidency, Shiites get the premiership, and Sunnis get the parliamentary speaker. Among Kurds, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has held on to the presidency position since 2005.
Disputes between the KDP and PUK over the position of the country's president and disputes between Shiite political parties have slowed down the process of government formation.
Pro-Iran political parties, who have formed the Coordination Framework, have rejected the election results, claiming the vote was rigged. The alliance is affiliated to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi). They have been accused of threatening the members of the rival alliance.
The house of Halbousi and the offices of the KDP and other parties of tripartite alliance have been attacked in Baghdad.
Sadr had warned more than a month ago that he would not accept from anyone to attack his partners.
It is not clear why Sadr and Halbousi tweeted about the alleged threats as no attacks on the members of their alliance have been in recent days.
