Iraq ‘national dialogue’ attendees call on Sadrists to join

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The participants of Iraq’s “national dialogue” meeting on Wednesday called on the Sadrists to join the multi-party discussion to find a resolution on the outstanding issues, according to a government statement. 

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi has recently called for a national dialogue, in which all the political parties would take part in order to amicably end the political deadlock that ensued following the October elections.

Having held in Baghdad, the dialogue was attended by the representatives of the major Iraqi and Kurdish parties, including the heads of the parties. The United Nations special envoy to the country, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, was in attendance as well. However, the powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr, leading an opposition front currently, was absent from the meeting.

In the meeting, they agreed to maintain dialogue until a resolution is reached by all sides regarding the outstanding issues, a statement read.

Holding an early election for the country is possible through constitutional means, the attendees agreed.

Stressing on stopping all media and street "escalation", all sides called on the Sadrist to join the dialogue to find a common ground.

Calling for dissolving the parliament and holding a new early election, Al-Sadr has championed recent demonstrations in Iraq, including the mass protests that have occupied the parliament for days.

On Wednesday, he postponed holding a million-man demonstration planned to take place on Friday.

The pro-Iran Shiite Coordination Framework had resisted Al-Sadr and his allies’ attempts to form a government when the cleric was in the parliament. He later withdrew his 73 members from the legislature.