Supporters of Iraqi strongman Muqtada al-Sadr have set up tents and are preparing for a lengthy sit-in at Iraq’s parliament, deepening a months-long political standoff. On Saturday, supporters of the fiery al-Sadr stormed the parliament for the second time in a few days, after elections in October failed to produce a government. “The protesters announce a sit-in until further notice,” al-Sadr’s movement said in a brief statement to reporters carried by the state-run INA news agency. Nearly 10 months after the October elections, Iraq is still without a new government despite intense factional negotiations. Forming a government in the oil-rich country has involved complex negotiations since the 2003 US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein. Supporters of al-Sadr, who once led a militia against US and Iraqi government forces, oppose the selection of a rival, pro-Iranian Shiite bloc as prime minister – Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. The post conventionally goes to a number from Iraq’s Shiite majority. “We don’t want Mr. Sudani,” said one protester, Sattar al-Aliawi, a 47-year-old civil servant. He said he was protesting “a corrupt and incompetent government” and would “sleep here” in Parliament Gardens. “The people completely reject the parties that have ruled the country for 18 years,” he said. Supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr raise his portraits inside the parliament [Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP] On Sunday morning, protesters marked the Muslim month of Muharram with religious chants and communal meals. “We hoped for the best, but got the worst. The politicians currently in parliament have brought us nothing,” Abdelwahab al-Jaafari, 45, said. Volunteers distributed soup, boiled eggs, bread and water to the protesters. Some spent the night inside the parliament with blankets spread on the marble floors. Others went to the gardens, on plastic mats under palm trees. Protesters rest inside the Iraqi parliament in the capital Baghdad [Sabah Arar/AFP] Al-Sadr’s bloc emerged from elections in October as the largest parliamentary faction, but was still far from a majority, causing the country’s biggest political vacuum since 2003. In June, al-Sadr’s 73 lawmakers resigned from their seats in a move seen as an attempt to pressure his opponents to speed up the formation of a government. This led to a pro-Iranian bloc becoming the largest in parliament, but still no agreement on the appointment of a new prime minister, president or cabinet. Saturday’s demonstration came three days after crowds of al-Sadr supporters breached the Green Belt and entered the legislature on Wednesday. The stalemate marks Iraq’s biggest crisis in years. In 2017, Iraqi forces, along with a US-led coalition and Iranian military support, defeated the ISIL (ISIS) group that had seized a third of Iraq. Two years later, Iraqis suffering from a lack of jobs and services took to the streets to demand an end to corruption, new elections and the removal of all the parties – especially the powerful Shiite groups – that have ruled the country since 2003. Al Sadr continues to ride the wave of popular opposition to his Iranian-backed rivals, saying they are corrupt and serve the interests of Tehran, not Baghdad.
