Sadr thanks parliament members who attended Saturday's session 'out of love for Iraq'
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Sadrist Movement leader Muqtada al-Sadr on Saturday thanked all the parliament members who attended Saturday's vote to elect a new president.
"Thanks to everyone who attended the session out of love for Iraq," Sadr tweeted on Saturday night. "Thanks to the Saving the Homeland Alliance, Emtidad Alliance, the New Generation Movement, and the independent brothers (Independent MPs)."
— مقتدى السيد محمد الصدر (@Mu_AlSadr) March 26, 2022
"These people are neither terrified by a threat nor tempted by temptation," he added.
He called upon those parliament members to attend Wednesday's vote along with others who didn't participate in Saturday's session.
"Your appointment will be renewed next Wednesday with those who will join to remove corruption, dependency, and consensus," he said.
The turnout on Saturday demonstrated that there is no place in Iraqi politics anymore for horse-trading, Sadr said. He also pointed out that those who attended that session were from all ethnicities and sects, representing a "beautiful mosaic which is neither eastern nor western."
The Iraqi Parliament failed to elect a president on Saturday after Iran-backed groups boycotted the session, and the quorum to elect the next president was not met.
Read More: What's next after Iraq's parliament failed to elect a president?
A total of 126 parliament members in Iraq's 329-seat house of representatives chose to boycott Saturday's session.
Only 202 members of parliament, mainly the members of the Saving the Homeland alliance, were present. That number did not meet the two-thirds quorum, or 220 seats necessary to elect a new president.
As a result of Saturday's failure, the parliament postponed the vote until Wednesday.