Report: Iraq is a "runaway train" and its democracy is being tested

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[size=52]Report: Iraq is a "runaway train" and its democracy is being tested[/size]

[size=45]The American newspaper “Christian Science Monitor” quoted experts and analysts as saying that the emerging democracy in Iraq is being tested in light of the political crises it is currently witnessing, but the state is extremely weak and has not collapsed, as if it is a “loose train” without a leader.[/size]
[size=45]The American newspaper considered that the current political crisis reveals the fragility of the country in the face of the whims of one disaffected and unelected player like Muqtada al-Sadr.[/size]
[size=45]The American report reviewed the developments of the recent Iraqi events, since the results of the elections and attempts to form a government and the clash between the Sadrist movement and the forces of the coordination framework, then the resignation of the Sadrist representatives, the attack on the parliament building, sit-ins and an attempt to storm the judiciary headquarters in the Green Zone.[/size]
[size=45]The report quoted a political analyst and a former government official, who asked not to be named, that "what we are seeing now is that the emerging democratic institutions in Iraq are being tested, in their limits and their ability to withstand these shocks."[/size]
[size=45]And after the same source indicated that al-Sadr “does not like to play according to the rules,” he clarified that “our parliament does not exist because the Sadrists are obstructing it, and our judiciary decided to close because of the Sadrists’ attempt to break in, and we have an interim transitional government whose mandate in the executive authority has expired.”[/size]
[size=45]"The three branches of the government are either paralyzed or they lack any authority at all," the analyst explained. This is the weakest that a country can reach without collapsing. We are in uncharted territory.”[/size]
[size=45]The report considered; The institutional controls succeeded to some degree, to prevent al-Sadr from completely dismantling the fledgling democracy in Iraq, as the regime served as a political adhesive to the various sectarian branches existing in Iraq, despite the spread of corruption, apparent dysfunction and long periods of stagnation.[/size]
[size=45]The report quoted a researcher at the American “Atlantic Council” Institute, Abbas Kazem, as saying that there was a “lack of strategy” in al-Sadr’s decision to withdraw his deputies from parliament, adding that putting pressure on the judiciary as a means to reach new elections constitutes a “lost battle for them.” “The judiciary cannot legally dissolve parliament.[/size]
[size=45]Kazem explained that the Sadrists "handed over their seats to their rivals, and completely eliminated themselves from any political participation in the government, and if they had relied on any of the advisors, they would have told them: You are politically committing suicide."[/size]
[size=45]"Now that they have left, they want to return," Kazem continued, adding that "there is no political bloc that can afford to stay outside the government for 3 and a half or 4 years." They have turned Iraq into a lonely train at the present time, and it is without a parliament and no judicial authority, and there is a caretaker government that cuts off its powers to a large extent.”[/size]
[size=45]The report drew; He pointed out that the current protests differ from the popular demonstrations that took place in 2019, as the current power game is being played by following al-Sadr in the street, adding that it is unclear whether the new elections, which will take at least a year to organize, require new funding, It will be sufficient to fulfill the expectations that al-Sadr put forward among his supporters about the “revolution.”[/size]
[size=45]Hamza Haddad, a researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations, explained that what al-Sadr did was to go to the Green Zone and occupy Parliament, recalling that al-Sadr blazed such a paper for the first time in 2016, after his supporters stormed parliament and imposed a broad cabinet reshuffle that some ministers entered technocrats in.[/size]
[size=45]Despite this, the demand for organizing new elections, even if they are achieved, raises concerns about Iraqi democracy.[/size]
[size=45]The report quoted an analyst in Baghdad as saying, "It is one of the system's flaws... Yes, we hold elections and we have someone to represent us in Parliament, but what is the use of that as long as they receive their orders from the leaders of their political parties?"[/size]
[size=45]Haddad said that "the issue will be the promotion of democracy in Iraq, which will progress in the long run," adding that "the early elections can be a major obstacle, and in the eyes of the people, they lack legitimacy.[/size]
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