Early Sunday Morning Iraq News Highlights 5-15-22

British Report: Al-Sadr Is Slow To Form A Government… And Intends To Keep Al-Kazemi For Another Year

May 14, 2022   Translation: Hamed Ahmed   A British report revealed that the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, sought to take a new step, which is to keep Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi for a period of up to a year, stressing that the Alliance to Save a Homeland does not see a problem in delaying the formation of the government.

A report by the British (Middle East Eye) website, translated by (Al-Mada), stated that “the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, after giving the independents an opportunity to nominate a prime minister, is now looking for the other option to break the political deadlock that the country is going through, and that is to keep the current prime minister.” Mustafa Al-Kazemi.

And the report continued, “Al-Sadr had called a week ago the independents in Parliament, who number about 40 deputies, to form their own bloc and appoint a prime minister, and he will be supportive of them.”

And he pointed out, “Iraqi political leaders participating in the government formation talks mentioned that Al-Sadr does not expect the independents to be able to achieve this, and therefore he is looking, instead of this matter, to keep Prime Minister Al-Kazemi for a period of six months to a year.”

A prominent leader in the Save the Homeland Alliance said, “Al-Sadr is not in a hurry to form a government,” noting that “one of the strongly proposed solutions now is to keep the current situation as it is for a period of six months to a year.” He denied, “there is a local or international circumstance or factor that pressures any party in the tripartite alliance to expedite the formation of the government.”

The leader stressed, “The United States is currently preoccupied in another part of the world and does not care much about what is currently happening in Iraq,” noting that “Iran believes that the continuation of the current situation is less harmful to it than the outbreak of a Shiite-Shiite conflict.”

The report stressed that “Al-Sadr has been trying, since winning the elections in October, to form a majority government in alliance with the Kurds and Sunnis.” And he indicated, “This is rejected by other political parties from Shiite parties represented by the coordination framework, as it decided to boycott parliament sessions to ensure that a quorum would not be obtained that would facilitate the formation of a government, but the continuation of the situation as it was would also be harmful.”

And the report added, “If Al-Sadr manages to continue imposing his dominance over Parliament and Al-Kazemi’s government, the coordination framework parties will find their influence and authority to decline.”

And he continued, “Al-Sadr, and to prove the seriousness of his plan, did not wait for the two-week deadline he gave to the independents to move forward with his next steps. He and his allies announced the continuation of Parliament’s work regardless of whether the boycotters attended or not.”

The report stressed, “The necessity requires that two-thirds of parliament members sit down to choose the President of the Republic, but half of the (166 deputies) can pass most legislative decisions, and the number of Sadr’s deputies and his allies is 186.”

And he added, “The presidency of the parliament, led by Muhammad al-Halbousi and his two deputies from the Sadrist movement and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, pledged to continue parliament sessions.”

The report quoted “three members of parliament saying that Hakem al-Zamili, the deputy speaker of parliament, told the heads of parliamentary blocs that the appointments of parliament committees had been agreed upon and that work to form them would begin immediately.”

And he added, “The first thing that must be passed in the list sequence is the annual budget, but the current disputes, the lack of parliament sessions and the delay in forming parliamentary committees have prevented it from being ratified so far.”

The report went on to state that “government projects, departments and social welfare networks may soon run out of money in their budgets, with the budget law not being passed.” To avoid this from happening, the report stated that “Al-Sadr and his allies submitted last month a draft of a small budget called the Emergency Support Law for Food Security and Development, which requires an urgent vote.”

He added, “The law may entail collecting approximately 35 trillion Iraqi dinars per month (about $23 billion) from the monthly surplus for oil sales, grants, international donations and loans, which are secured and deposited in a bank account under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance.” The report stated, “The law is working in a fundamental way to maintain the continuation of the country’s tasks for several months without approving the annual budget.”

A prominent Sadrist leader stressed that “the country will not be allowed to remain hostage, and we will implement the constitution, which speaks of the necessity of the presence of Parliament, the Presidency of the Republic and the government, and these elements are present at the present time, and therefore there is no problem in delaying the formation of a new government for several months.”

The report also stated, “The political forces have been working since 2003 according to the power partnership agreement, where important positions and departments, military and civil, are divided between parties according to their representation in Parliament.”

He continues, “A part of the positions are granted on the basis of courtesy and preference, and another part is given as a reward, and that only Parliament has the right to approve these appointments in these positions.”

And the report indicated, “The absence of political consensus and amid intense competition between the parliamentary blocs, made Al-Kazemi’s government and the governments that preceded him in recent years resort to filling those positions with agency officials, on a temporary basis, as a evasion of the parliamentary process.”

He cautioned, “Leaders in the Sadrist movement said that the process of dominating positions and appointments without Parliament’s approval will end soon.”

A prominent member of the Sadrist movement stated, “Al-Sadr’s alliance has the strength to continue or dissolve parliament, and that the situation as it is will not discourage his project. And that would greatly harm his opponents.”

The Sadrist leader went on to say, “There is a new philosophy for the administration, and this philosophy needs new men, and we will work accordingly by changing the old team with a new one, and we will end the country’s administration by proxy. This is what everyone wants and this is what we will do.”   LINK

The Parliamentary Security And Defense Committee Elects The Committee’s Chairman And Rapporteur

Political | 01:01 - 15/05/2022   Baghdad - Mawazine News, the Security and Defense Committee elected, today, Sunday, MP Khaled Al-Obaidi as its head.

Jawad al-Bolani was elected deputy chairman of the committee, while the committee's rapporteur was elected deputy Sakfan Yusef. "

It is reported that the parliament voted, Wednesday, on members of the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee." Ended 29/M99   https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=193191

Today, A Kurdish Meeting Is Expected Between The National Union And The Democratic Union To Discuss The File Of The Presidency Of The Republic

Political | 12:24 - 15/05/2022   Exclusive - Mawazine News   The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan confirmed, on Sunday, that today's meeting with the Democratic Party was held to discuss the relationship between the two parties and to discuss the file of choosing the presidency.

"Today's meeting came to determine the axes of the relationship between the two parties, the most prominent of which is the issue of the Presidency of the Republic, the repercussions of forming a government, and the political blockage," the union leader, Rabha Hamad, told Mawazine News.

She indicated that "the presidency of the republic is the right of the National Union, and no party or party can interfere in it, and if the two parties do not reach an agreement, we will enter presidential candidates as happened in 2018." Ended 29 / M 99   https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=193187

The Rule Of Law: The Initiative Of The Independents Has Become An Echo In The Political Arena

Political | 09:16 - 15/05/2022   Baghdad - Mawazine News, a member of the State of Law coalition, Muhammad Al-Shammari, confirmed today, Sunday, that the initiative of the independents has resonated in the political arena, and the coordination framework and the Sadrist movement turned towards them to the weight of the egg.

Al-Shammari said, in an interview with Al-Sabah. "The alliances are still not clear, and the Sadrist movement is still insisting on its position, and the initiative of the independents has become an echo in the political arena, and the coordination framework directed towards them by the two parties and the Sadrist movement has turned them into a telescope egg,"

he added, " The formation of the government needs a bloc supported by a strong bloc behind it, and with the absence of this condition, the government’s performance will be weak, and we are waiting for the days and about anything that will result,” noting that “delaying the formation of the government does not mean that there are desires to end the parliament’s work by dissolving it, and if that happens; No citizen will take a step towards the new elections."   https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=193167

Al-Shibli: The Initiative Of The Independents Is Directed To End The Political Crisis

Independent MP Nazim Al-Shibli confirmed that the independents have completed all the details and paragraphs of their initiative, and it will be announced on Sunday.

Al-Shibli said that the initiative will be directed to all blocs to end the political crisis, noting that there is a tendency among the independents to form a committee with the aim of negotiating with the political parties, to reach a satisfactory solution for all parties regarding the stifling political crisis.   LINK

Al-Maliki And Khazali Stress Finding Political Solutions To Prevent The Iraqi Situation From Reaching A State Of "Danger"

Posted On2022-05-15  By Sotaliraq    The Secretary-General of the "Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq" movement, Qais Khazali, met today, Saturday, in his office in Baghdad, Nuri al-Maliki, head of the State of Law coalition.

A statement issued by Khazali's office stated, "During the meeting, the Iraqi political scene and ways to address the obstacles facing the formation of the government and the crises that resulted from the delay in its formation were reviewed."

And “the two sides stressed the need to exert more efforts to reach wise political solutions to prevent the Iraqi situation from reaching a state of weakness and danger,” according to the statement.

The dispute intensified between the two Shiite poles represented by the Sadrist movement, which won the highest votes in the elections that took place last year, and the coordination framework that includes blocs that expressed their rejection of the election results.

The leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, insists on forming a majority government that seeks to exclude the leader of the State of Law coalition, Nuri al-Maliki, who served as prime minister for two terms.

On the tenth of last October, Iraq held early legislative elections to get out of a political crisis that swept the country after large demonstrations in the central and southern regions in 2019 in protest against the widespread unemployment in society, the spread of financial and administrative corruption in government departments and institutions, and the deteriorating reality The service and the livelihood, which prompted the former prime minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, to resign under popular pressure.

As soon as the preliminary results of the elections were announced, the voices of political forces and actors rose in their rejection of losing many seats, accusing them of major fraud in the ballot, which was denied by the executive and judicial authorities, at a time when the United Nations and international organizations praised the integrity of the electoral process.   LINK

Al-Maliki And Khazali Stress The Need To Reach Wise Political Solutions

Political | 10:56 - 14/05/2022   Baghdad - Mawazine News   The Secretary-General of Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Qais Khazali, discussed, on Saturday, with the head of the State of Law coalition, Nuri al-Maliki, the political situation in the country, while the two sides stressed the need to reach wise political solutions.

In a statement received by Mawazine News, Khazali's office stated that the Secretary-General of the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq movement, Qais al-Khazali, was received in his office in Baghdad by the head of the State of Law coalition, Nuri al-Maliki.

During the meeting, according to the statement, they reviewed the Iraqi political scene and ways to address the obstacles facing the formation of the government and the crises that resulted from the delay in its formation.

The two sides stressed the need to exert more efforts to reach wise political solutions to prevent the Iraqi situation from reaching a state of weakness and danger. https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=193152

President Barzani And The Belgian Ambassador Discuss The Path Of Forming The Iraqi Government

Posted On2022-05-15  By Sotaliraq  The Belgian ambassador referred to the historical role played by President Barzani in the struggle of the people of Kurdistan

President Massoud Barzani discussed today, Saturday, with the Belgian Ambassador to Iraq Philippe Vanden, the latest developments in the situation in Iraq.

Barzani's headquarters stated on his Facebook page that President Barzani received in Salah al-Din the Belgian ambassador and discussed with him the Iraqi political situation and the challenges facing the political process, in addition to the path of forming the new government.

In another part of the meeting, the Belgian ambassador referred to the historical role played by President Barzani in the struggle of the people of Kurdistan, and thanked the Kurdistan Regional Government for its coordination and cooperation within the framework of bilateral relations that bring the two sides together in various fields.

The two sides discussed the situation in Syria, in addition to discussing the normalization of the situation in the Sinjar region to ensure the return of the displaced to it.   LINK

Al-Sadr Assigns Al-Adari And Al-Mutairi With This Matter

Political | 12:01 - 15/05/2022   Baghdad - Mawazine News, the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, on Sunday assigned the head of the Sadrist bloc, Hassan al-Adari, the head of the political body of the movement, Ahmed al-Mutairi, and a representative of al-Hanana, to follow up on the "corruption" file in Dhi Qar, within a maximum period of 20 days.    https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=193184