‘To hold session outside parliament, form a government, go for early election’: Ayad Allawi
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - The head of the National Coalition, Ayad Allawi, called for holding a parliamentary session "anywhere in Iraq" to choose the president of the republic and form a government that would pave the way for early elections.
"We have always called for a national dialogue in which we see a solution to crises and overcoming chaos and complexity,” Allawi said in a statement on Friday. “We have also demanded, since 2010, the formation of the higher council for strategic policies and now the formation of a council of wise men, but unfortunately, the opponents did not respond to our calls."
Allawi pointed out that “it remains only to respect the timing of the constitution by holding a session of the House of Representatives anywhere in Iraq in the presence of the president of the judicial council and the president of the federal court to choose or install the president of the republic and to form a government that paves the way for early elections with a fair electoral law and a fair election commission.”
"Otherwise, the situation will worsen and deteriorate into unimaginable consequences, and I have nothing but warning of the repercussions and dangers of the stage our beloved country is going through," he added.
On Friday, the Shiite Coordinating Framework said that “Iraq can only be managed through dialogue,” indicating that “no party can confiscate the will of everyone.”
This is the latest position of the Shiite Coordinating Framework since its supporters announced an open sit-in within the walls of the Green Zone in which the Sadrists are camping outside Parliament.
The coordination framework seeks to form a government, but supporters of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, reject this and demand the dissolution of Parliament.
In a statement praising its protesting supporters, the Shiite Coordinating Framework “expressed its solidarity with the will of the demonstrators, which affirmed the demands of the national majority for a free and dignified life and the establishment of a government of national service that provides a decent life for all the Iraqi people."
The Shiite Coordinating Framework, through its supporters, demands the speedy formation of the government and the resumption of the parliament sessions, which were suspended indefinitely by its president, Muhammad al-Halbousi.
The framework added in its statement, of which Kurdistan 24 received a copy, "we pledge to the Iraqi masses to work hard and continuously to achieve their demands, and we will not deviate from these major national goals as long as they are linked to the hopes, and aspirations of the people in equality and social justice."
“This country can only be managed through dialogue and understanding between all its people, and no party can confiscate the will of everyone under any pretext,” the statement added.
Sadr had given the Iraqi judiciary a week to dissolve parliament and threatened to take other escalating measures unless this was achieved, threatening to exacerbate the political crisis.
In a related development, on Saturday, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Politburo announced that it’s possible to agree on holding an early election after having the political parties promise to accept the election results.
“To achieve the process of reform and change, it is possible to agree to hold early elections, but before that, all participants must pledge to accept the final results as they are and not to repeat the experience of the past elections,” read the KDP Politburo statement.
The statement pointed out that the complications which followed the announcement of the results of the October 2021 legislative elections led the country to “this suffocating blockage.”
“All Iraqi leaders must rise to the level of responsibility to save the country from imminent existential dangers,” the KDP statement emphasized.
On Thursday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi reiterated his call that the only way for Iraq to overcome the political crisis is through dialogue.
“Dialogue is the only solution,” the prime minister said, adding, “a thousand years of dialogue is better than a moment of conflict.”
The prime minister said the lack of approving a budget by the parliament due to political deadlock had hindered the government’s progress in delivering basic services.
Read More: PM Kadhimi stresses dialogue as Iraq heads to uncertainty
He reassured that “the current caretaker government would hand over power as soon as the political parties agreed to form a government.”
“After decades of conflict and suffering, the Iraqis deserve a better life,” the premier added.