Baghdad – AFP
On Monday, the United Nations mission in Iraq called on the country’s political parties to engage in “dialogue without preconditions” to find a way out of a “protracted crisis that threatens greater instability” one year after the legislative elections.
Iraq held early legislative elections on October 10, 2021, under pressure from unprecedented popular protests that emerged against political corruption and deteriorating infrastructure in the fall of 2019.
But a year later, the same political parties still dominate the country. Despite the interminable negotiations between them, the parties in crisis have failed to reach an agreement on the election of a new president and the appointment of a new prime minister.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) stated in its statement: “All actors must engage in a dialogue without preconditions”.
He called on the country’s politicians to “collectively agree on the main results by making concessions that reaffirm their declared goal, which is to meet the needs of the Iraqi people and form a government with full and effective powers”.
Iraq is going through a serious political crisis against the backdrop of the dispute between the two political poles, the coordination framework and the Sadrist movement.
For his part, Muqtada al-Sadr calls for the dissolution of parliament and the holding of early legislative elections, while the coordination framework provides for the formation of a new government before going to the elections.
On Monday, the coordination framework expressed in a statement its support for the UN appeal and its “continued readiness for dialogue and understanding with all political forces in order to complete constitutional obligations and form a government with full powers. able to provide services and satisfy the aspirations and aspirations of the Iraqi people. “
The tension peaked on 29 August, when armed clashes erupted between supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr on the one hand and army and People’s Mobilization forces on the other, during which more than 30 members were killed. of the Sadrist movement.
The UN statement warns that “Iraq does not have much time today. The protracted crisis portends greater instability and recent events are proof of this. “He added:” The adoption of the 2023 budget by the end of the year is an urgent matter. “
In turn, the French embassy in Baghdad, in a statement, called on all political parties “to urgently engage in a real dialogue without preconditions and with a real willingness to make concessions”.
In addition to the differences between the two sides and their inability to agree on the name of a prime minister, there are also differences between the two major Kurdish parties on the choice of president. The position usually belongs to the PUK, but the KDP tries to take it.
