Iraq sets Sept. 28 to look into appeal of Sadrist MPs resignation

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The Federal Supreme Court of Iraq has set the 28th of this September as the date to consider the appeal to accept the resignations of the Sadrist bloc’s MPs., according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

In a statement it received, the court said that "a lawsuit has been filed to appeal the acceptance of the resignations of the Sadrist bloc's MPs (with issue 181 / Federal / 2022)."

Since the early parliamentary elections in October 2021, Iraq has been suffering from a severe political crisis, as consultations between the political parties did not lead to the nomination of a prime minister. As a result, members of the Sadrist movement within Parliament submitted their resignation after calls by the leader of the movement Muqtada Al-Sadr.

Today, Sunday, the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Muhammad al-Halbousi, called for the agenda of the upcoming national dialogue session to include setting a date for early parliamentary elections and electing provincial councils, no later than the end of next year.

Parliament speaker Mohammed Al-Halbousi suggested, in a Twitter statement on Sunday, an agenda for a second national dialogue session, following the previous one that was held on August 17, which are parts of a bid to end a political impasse that has left Iraq without a government, prime minister or a president since elections last October.  

The Sadrist movement denounced in a statement, last Thursday, the Coordination Framework's call on the parliament and the rest of the constitutional institutions to return to exercising their constitutional duties in order to form a new government.

Earlier, Iraq Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi threatened to vacate his post if the complicated political situation in the country persists.

For his part, Iraqi President Barham Saleh called on the leaders of the Coordination Framework to negotiate with the Sadrist movement to end the political stalemate in the country and to discuss the possibility of holding early parliamentary elections, in order to form a new government.

Read: International concern mounts over latest developments in Iraq

A few days ago, Iraq witnessed bloody clashes that killed more than 20 people and a large number of injured, after supporters of the Sadrist movement stormed a number of government headquarters in Baghdad, immediately after the movement's leader, Muqtada Al-Sadr, announced he was quitting politics.

Al-Sadr's supporters withdrew from the street in compliance with the directives of their leader, who criticized the violence that happened during the protests. The Coordination Framework also ended its supporters' sit-in in the capital, Baghdad.