Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 34 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 8/6/22

Iraqis occupy parliament to demand an end to corruption

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   No comments
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Steven Sahiounie
Become a Fan
  (2 fans)

The other day, Muqtada al-Sadr urged his supporters to continue protests at the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad. The Muslim cleric has a large support base who demand the dissolution of parliament and a call for early elections.

Iraq has been suffering under a political stalemate that has prevented an elected government for almost 10 months.

Thousands of protesters entered and occupied the parliament which sits within the Green Zone last weekend. The move was in response to attempts by a rival political faction to form a government with prime ministerial candidates unacceptable to Sadr and his followers.

The last election was held in October and Sadr won the largest bloc of seats in parliament, but was unable to form a government which would exclude his rivals. Sadr withdrew his members of parliament, and turned to the strategy of protests and the parliament occupation to achieve a change in the stalemate.

Sadr claims past dialogue has not achieved anything. He said, "But we have already tried and experienced dialogue with them." He added, "It has brought nothing to us and to the nation - only ruin and corruption."

Outgoing Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and President Barham Saleh have stressed the importance of "guaranteeing security and stability" in the country.

Why did they occupy the parliament?

Raed Jarrar is an Iraqi-American political advocate based in Washington, DC. He was born in Baghdad and lived through the US invasion and total destruction of his country. He told Al Jazeera TV recently, that the answer to Iraq's current crisis is to end the sectarian quota system, end corrupt politicians, and end foreign meddling in Iraq.

Is Iraq a democracy?

After the US invasion of Iraq, the US government and their media outlets promoted the idea that the US was bring American-style democracy to Iraq after removing a brutal dictator. That never happened. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Iraq an "authoritarian regime" in 2019. The US officials in charge of inventing the Iraq government after the invasion, devised a very un-American governing system. It has a multi-party system that keeps divisions and chaos center stage, while the Prime Minister, President, and the parliament all fight against each other vying for their own interests amid party and sectarian allegiances. Under this un-American, but American-made system, it is almost impossible to get any worthwhile changes made.

Sectarian quotas

Imagine in the US if congressional seats were divided by Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Atheists. Iraq is made up of numerous religious groups, and in the 2021 parliamentary election held in October, the political bloc led by Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr was confirmed the winner after having won a total of 73 out of the 329 seats in the parliament. The Taqadum, or Progress Party - led by Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, a Sunni - secured 37 seats. Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law party got 33 seats in parliament. Al-Fatah alliance, whose main components are militia groups affiliated with the Iran-backed Popular Mobilisation Forces, sustained its crushing loss and snatched 17 seats. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) received 31 seats, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) gained 18.

Corruption

Iraq's is the most corrupt government in the Middle East, according to Transparency International, and is described as a "hybrid regime" between a "flawed democracy" and an "authoritarian regime".

Brown University published the 2011 report "Costs of War", in which it concluded the US military presence in Iraq has not been able to prevent corruption, noting that as early as 2006, "there were clear signs that post-Saddam Iraq was not going to be the linchpin for a new democratic Middle East."

Foreign meddling

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Rate It | View Ratings

Steven Sahiounie Social Media Pages: Facebook Page       Twitter Page       Linked In Page       Instagram Page

I am Steven Sahiounie Syrian American award winning journalist and political commentator Living in Lattakia Syria and I am the chief editor of MidEastDiscours I have been reporting about Syria and the Middle East for about 8 years

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Free Syrian Army Sold Kayla Mueller to ISIS

Ukraine and its Nazis

Lebanese migrant boat sunk off Tripoli with 60 onboard

US proxy wars in Ukraine, Syria, and China may be next

Like Cuba in 1962, is Ukraine a chessboard for superpowers?

Palestine tensions may erupt in escalation

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend