Home
[size=36]After a rare meeting... sources talk about Al-Sadr's future in political life in Iraq[/size]
Political | 09:19 - 05/12/2024
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Mawazine News - Baghdad
Multiple sources told Reuters that the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, is paving the way for his return to the political scene, two years after his attempt to form a government without his Shiite rivals failed.
Observers say that his return, likely scheduled for the parliamentary elections in 2025, may threaten the growing influence of competitors, including Shiite parties and Iraqi armed factions close to Iran, and undermine the relative stability that Iraq has witnessed recently.
During the preparation of this report, Reuters spoke with more than 20 sources, including Shiite politicians from the Sadrist movement, rival factions, clerics and politicians in the holy city of Najaf for Shiites, government officials and analysts. Most of them spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic.
A former representative of the Sadrist movement said, “This time, the Sadrist movement has a stronger determination than before to win a larger number of seats to form a majority government,” although the final decision to run has not been made officially.
The Sadrist movement won the parliamentary elections in 2021, but Al-Sadr ordered his deputies to resign, then announced the following year his final withdrawal from the political process in the country after rival Shiite parties thwarted his attempt to form a majority government with only Kurdish and Sunni parties.
Al-Sadr, a prominent figure in Iraq since America entered the country in 2003, denounces the influence of Iran and the United States in Iraq.
Iran considers Al-Sadr's participation in political life important for preserving Iraq's Shiite-dominated political system in the long term, although Tehran rejects his aspirations to recognize him as a single dominant power.
The United States, which fought militants loyal to Al-Sadr after he declared "jihad" against it in 2004, sees Al-Sadr as a threat to Iraq's fragile stability, but it also sees him as a tool to counter Iranian influence, according to Reuters.
Many Iraqis say their conditions are worsening regardless of who takes power, while elites drain the country's oil wealth.
A rare meeting.
Al-Sadr has been back in the spotlight since last March.
First, he held a rare meeting with Ali al-Sistani, the supreme authority for Iraqi Shiites who played a pivotal role in ending bloody clashes between Shiites in 2022 before al-Sadr withdrew from the political arena.
Six sources from the Sadrist movement said that the Sadrists interpret the meeting that took place on March 18 with Al-Sistani, who distances himself from the complex political scene and does not usually meet with politicians, as implicit support.
A cleric close to Al-Sistani said that Al-Sadr spoke about a possible return to political life and parliament and emerged from this important meeting with a “positive result.” Sistani's office did not respond to a request for comment.
Days after the meeting, Al-Sadr called on the representatives of the Sadrist bloc who resigned in 2021 to regroup and communicate again with the movement’s political base.
A source close to him said that Al-Sadr then renamed the movement to bear the name “National Shiite Movement,” in a veiled criticism of rival Shiite factions that he considers unpatriotic and loyal to Iran, as well as in an attempt to mobilize his popular Shiite base.
While some analysts fear a state of confusion due to Al-Sadr's return to the political scene, others say that he may return more modest due to the defeat of his supporters during armed confrontations with rival Shiite factions, as well as the relative success achieved by the current Baghdad government, including balancing relations with Iran and the United States. United.
“Of course, the risk of unrest always increases when the number of factions increases in the balance of power, especially when they are armed,” said Hamza Haddad, an Iraqi analyst and visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “But the Sadrists must return to being less aggressive.”
He added, "The political factions know that it is better to share power than to lose it completely."
A prominent Sadrist politician said that the movement may seek an alliance with some of the ruling Shiite factions, such as the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani, who is very popular, while excluding others, including his arch rival, Qais Khazali, the leader of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq faction. Political and military allied with Iran.
Advisors to Al-Sudani said that the Prime Minister is keeping his options open.
The Sadrist politician stated, "There are factions within the framework with which we have long-term relations and with whom we can ally before or after the elections. What we do not accept is entering into agreements with corrupt factions."
In Sadr City, a sprawling, long-poverty stronghold of the movement on the eastern side of Baghdad, many are waiting for Al-Sadr's return, hoping it will translate into jobs and services.
Talib Mahawi (37 years old), a father of three children, waiting for a response to an application for a government job, said, “This city supports Al-Sadr, and I do not think he will forget us after all the sacrifices we made for him... He should change things when he returns.”
Observers say that his return, likely scheduled for the parliamentary elections in 2025, may threaten the growing influence of competitors, including Shiite parties and Iraqi armed factions close to Iran, and undermine the relative stability that Iraq has witnessed recently.
During the preparation of this report, Reuters spoke with more than 20 sources, including Shiite politicians from the Sadrist movement, rival factions, clerics and politicians in the holy city of Najaf for Shiites, government officials and analysts. Most of them spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic.
A former representative of the Sadrist movement said, “This time, the Sadrist movement has a stronger determination than before to win a larger number of seats to form a majority government,” although the final decision to run has not been made officially.
The Sadrist movement won the parliamentary elections in 2021, but Al-Sadr ordered his deputies to resign, then announced the following year his final withdrawal from the political process in the country after rival Shiite parties thwarted his attempt to form a majority government with only Kurdish and Sunni parties.
Al-Sadr, a prominent figure in Iraq since America entered the country in 2003, denounces the influence of Iran and the United States in Iraq.
Iran considers Al-Sadr's participation in political life important for preserving Iraq's Shiite-dominated political system in the long term, although Tehran rejects his aspirations to recognize him as a single dominant power.
The United States, which fought militants loyal to Al-Sadr after he declared "jihad" against it in 2004, sees Al-Sadr as a threat to Iraq's fragile stability, but it also sees him as a tool to counter Iranian influence, according to Reuters.
Many Iraqis say their conditions are worsening regardless of who takes power, while elites drain the country's oil wealth.
A rare meeting.
Al-Sadr has been back in the spotlight since last March.
First, he held a rare meeting with Ali al-Sistani, the supreme authority for Iraqi Shiites who played a pivotal role in ending bloody clashes between Shiites in 2022 before al-Sadr withdrew from the political arena.
Six sources from the Sadrist movement said that the Sadrists interpret the meeting that took place on March 18 with Al-Sistani, who distances himself from the complex political scene and does not usually meet with politicians, as implicit support.
A cleric close to Al-Sistani said that Al-Sadr spoke about a possible return to political life and parliament and emerged from this important meeting with a “positive result.” Sistani's office did not respond to a request for comment.
Days after the meeting, Al-Sadr called on the representatives of the Sadrist bloc who resigned in 2021 to regroup and communicate again with the movement’s political base.
A source close to him said that Al-Sadr then renamed the movement to bear the name “National Shiite Movement,” in a veiled criticism of rival Shiite factions that he considers unpatriotic and loyal to Iran, as well as in an attempt to mobilize his popular Shiite base.
While some analysts fear a state of confusion due to Al-Sadr's return to the political scene, others say that he may return more modest due to the defeat of his supporters during armed confrontations with rival Shiite factions, as well as the relative success achieved by the current Baghdad government, including balancing relations with Iran and the United States. United.
“Of course, the risk of unrest always increases when the number of factions increases in the balance of power, especially when they are armed,” said Hamza Haddad, an Iraqi analyst and visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “But the Sadrists must return to being less aggressive.”
He added, "The political factions know that it is better to share power than to lose it completely."
A prominent Sadrist politician said that the movement may seek an alliance with some of the ruling Shiite factions, such as the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani, who is very popular, while excluding others, including his arch rival, Qais Khazali, the leader of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq faction. Political and military allied with Iran.
Advisors to Al-Sudani said that the Prime Minister is keeping his options open.
The Sadrist politician stated, "There are factions within the framework with which we have long-term relations and with whom we can ally before or after the elections. What we do not accept is entering into agreements with corrupt factions."
In Sadr City, a sprawling, long-poverty stronghold of the movement on the eastern side of Baghdad, many are waiting for Al-Sadr's return, hoping it will translate into jobs and services.
Talib Mahawi (37 years old), a father of three children, waiting for a response to an application for a government job, said, “This city supports Al-Sadr, and I do not think he will forget us after all the sacrifices we made for him... He should change things when he returns.”
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
» utube 9/16/24 MM&C Iraq Dinar Update - #xrpripple #iraqidinar - Electronic International Payments
» Market monopoly is in danger... and the Parliamentary Economic Committee leads the correction battle
» Document warns of environmental danger threatening southern Iraq
» Central Bank Governor: We have put in place methods to secure the provision of dollars and are subje
» MP hints at corruption suspicions in $22 billion railway contract
» MP holds Al-Sudani responsible for withdrawing important laws from the House of Representatives
» Parliamentary Oil Committee accuses the region of smuggling oil
» The Council of Ministers decides to amend the price of industrial oil
» "Al-Eqtisad News" publishes the full decisions of the Cabinet session
» Parliamentary moves to increase state financial revenues
» New mechanism for collecting tax amounts electronically
» Iraqi oil exports rose yesterday to 3.5 million barrels
» South Gas: Integrated Gas Development Project is an Opportunity to Invest Local Hands
» Artawi Project.. A new energy that ignites the Iraqi economy and extinguishes the fires of waste!
» Al-Ghais: Taxes constitute the largest percentage of fuel prices in these countries
» Is the decline in oil prices related to the rise in exchange rates? An "important" clarification fro
» Iraq imports more than 722 million tons of gasoline in three months
» Hermes: Gulf investors have become more selective after the flood of IPOs in the region
» Real estate manipulators between the jaws of the "justice pincers"
» New crime
» Conference to support the private sector
» After the {Sabah} report... a campaign to deport {illegal} workers
» Al-Sudani: Amending the Drug Law raises the level of combating it
» Numbering Nineveh buildings in preparation for the population census
» Labor: Intensive campaign to deport “illegal” workers
» Emaar: The residential complex for journalists will be transferred to an investor
» Government organizes national conference to support private sector
» Real estate inflation
» {Hypermarket}.. Central markets with a new look
» Iraq calls on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities and stop the massacres an
» Al-Maliki's coalition explains the nature of the presence of Hamas and Houthi offices in Baghdad.. A
» What are the goals of Qaani's "secret" visit to Baghdad? - Urgent
» Al-Sudani: The heaviness of the energy system problem in transmission and distribution
» Parliamentary message to Al-Sudani: You have the dangerous Kar file in your hands.. Save public mone
» 15% tax on social media applications in Iraq
» Fears of delayed salaries.. State employees face increasing financial pressures!
» General amnesty.. a step to exonerate Nour Zuhair and an opportunity for terrorists
» Iraq between stalled projects and postponed promises: years of endless waiting
» Al-Sudani: Iraq is witnessing transformations in digital reality today
» Announcing the formation of a new party in Iraq
» The electricity dilemma is stifling Iraqi industry and exacerbating the losses of the local economy!
» Parliament asks the Ministry of Planning to estimate revenues
» Iraq and Russia sign a memorandum of understanding
» Trade invites Azerbaijani companies to participate in Baghdad International Fair
» New mechanism for granting national card to citizens
» A scandalous scandal revealed by the Ministry of Labor
» The Chairman of the Accountability and Justice Commission meets the Minister of Anfal
» Al-Basri: We will announce crimes related to public money soon
» Al-Sudani: The electricity projects that were opened today had been lagging behind for years
» Cabinet decisions for today
» Al-Khalidi talks about solving the problem of the parliament presidency
» Strange statement from a former MP
» Allawi: Personal status proposal will tear Iraq apart
» Parliamentary Finance: No financial distress
» Central Bank of Iraq: Oil price drop has nothing to do with dollar exchange rate rise
» Parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee moves to host oil formations managers.. This is the reason
» Al-Masari reveals to Alsumaria the reason for the delay in deciding the position of Parliament Speak
» Al-Shammari: There is political collusion in the absence of a Speaker of Parliament
» With documents.. Parliamentary signatures to reject the railway link with Iran
» Dollar to Dinar Exchange Rates in Iraq Today
» utube 9/15/24 MM&C Iraq Dinar Update - #xrpripple #iraqidinar Digital Transformation - Global Even
» Progress reveals new political endorsement for its candidate for parliament speaker
» Al-Sudani: Announcing the end of the international coalition mission soon, and we are committed to O
» Iraq and Austria sign a loan financing agreement to stimulate the agricultural sector
» Pending amnesty and complex negotiations: Justice and politics intertwine in the parliament hall
» Amnesty Law: A New Ticket for Corruptors or a Correction of What Politics Has Broken?
» Al-Sudani turns the page on the international coalition.. 2024 is not like 2014
» Oil moves towards generalizing electronic payment in all governorates
» Economist: Decongestion projects will not succeed
» Abu Saeeda: The government is "afraid" of Washington's demand to withdraw its forces from Iraq
» What is the truth of the bargain of passing the amnesty in exchange for personal status?
» MP confirms boycott of parliament sessions due to general amnesty law
» Headed by Al-Sudani.. The Council of Ministers holds its regular session
» Rising housing prices.. Collecting parliamentary signatures to question the head of the Investment A
» Al-Fath: Equipping the Peshmerga with artillery is a first step towards the region’s military secess
» Violations and waste of public money.. Voices calling for the need to expose port corruption are ris
» Currency Auction.. The Central Bank of Iraq sells more than $ 249 million in one day
» Parliamentary Finance Committee discusses proposal to establish sovereign fund
» Karbala: Violations and delays in establishing a park worth 2.4 billion dinars revealed
» Iraq falls to fifth place in buying real estate in Türkiye during the month
» Al-Sudani diagnoses the oil problem of Baghdad and Erbil.. What about the Ceyhan pipeline?
» 500,000 salaries registered in the “Hisabi” system in the Kurdistan Region
» Al-Nusairi identifies the challenges facing Iraqi private banks and opportunities for banking reform
» "Our Country's Dream"... Al-Sudani Sends an "Important" Message to Gulf States Regarding the Path to
» 110 thousand barrels is the volume of decrease in Iraqi exports since the beginning of this month
» Economist: Iran's exports to Iraq increased 71-fold in 20 years
» Pezeshkian praises the results of his visit to Iraq
» Al-Sudani: The government seeks to buy services from investors
» Real estate manipulators between the jaws of the "justice pincers"
» Mechanism to resolve tribal conflicts in Maysan
» Decline in Iraqi exports
» Spanish company implements Basra-Shalamcheh railway
» Advisor to the Prime Minister announces to {Sabah} the launch of the {Back to Education} initiative
» Members of the Ministry of Defense in Basra demand the implementation of the allocation of land plot
» The Social Protection Authority calls on its beneficiaries to expedite the issuance of the unified c
» Trade Bank of Iraq announces mechanism for obtaining US dollars for travel purposes abroad
» House of Representatives votes on agricultural land rental bill
» Minister of Trade arrives in Baku at the head of an investment delegation