Reuters
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NOS News•yesterday, 20:56
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For the second day in a row, the parliament in the Iraqi capital Baghdad is occupied by protesters. These are hundreds of followers of the influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Yesterday they pulled down the security walls around the building in the highly secured Green Zone and stormed the building by hundreds.
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The demonstrators disagree with the prime minister candidate nominated by other Shia parties. That is Mohamed Shia al-Sudani, a 52-year-old former minister and a rival of al-Sadr. The protesters threaten to remain in the parliament building until their demands are met. They want snap elections, constitutional changes and the departure of opponents of al-Sadr.
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In the parliament, the demonstrators have laid mattresses on the floor. Today it looked more like a party than a political protest. There was dancing, prayers and slogans shouted through parliament. In between, the demonstrators took naps on the mattresses in the hall. However, yesterday was violent. According to authorities, 125 people injured. The police withdrew after a few hours and left the parliament to the protesters.
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AFP
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Al-Sadr himself did not attend the protest, but did encourage his supporters. According to him, the protest is “a great opportunity to radically challenge the political system, the constitution and the elections”. He has called on all Iraqis to participate, indicating that the protest could last a long time.
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Hundreds of al-Sadr supporters stormed parliament on Wednesday. Seventy people were injured as a result. Al-Sadr’s political movement became the largest in last year’s elections, but failed to form a majority coalition with Sunni and Kurdish parties.
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He therefore withdrew all members of his party from parliament last month. Those seats have since been taken by rival Shia parties. Iraq has been without a government for almost a year.
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