President Barham Saleh says early legislative elections would be in line with the aspirations of the Iraqi people and would guarantee political and social stability.
President Saleh spoke in Baghdad hours after supporters of al Sadr withdrew from Baghdad's Green Zone following nearly 24 hours of clashes.
(AFP PHOTO / HO / IRAQI PRESIDENCY)
Iraqi President Barham Saleh has encouraged early legislative elections to settle a political crisis that escalated into deadly clashes this week, killing dozens and wounding hundreds more.
"Holding new, early elections in accordance with a national consensus represents an exit from the stifling crisis," Saleh said in a speech on Tuesday.
"It guarantees political and social stability and responds to the aspirations of the Iraqi people".
Early elections, less than a year after the last polls, have been a key demand of Shia Muslim cleric Muqtada al Sadr, whose supporters battled state security forces and Shia factions backed by neighbouring Iran in violence that started on Monday.
Thirty Sadr supporters were shot dead and at least 570 others were injured after protesters stormed the government palace following their leader's announcement that he was quitting politics.
President Saleh spoke hours after supporters of Sadr withdrew from Baghdad's Green Zone following the nearly 24 hours of clashes.
READ MORE: Iraq's cleric Muqtada al Sadr quits politics
Iraq has been in political deadlock since parliamentary elections in October. Here's an explainer on two main Shia groups who are competing for power: pic.twitter.com/WbsuHvZjFA
Months of political paralysis
Sadr and his supporters have spearheaded calls for the dissolution of parliament and new legislative elections following months of political paralysis.
Under the constitution, parliament can only be dissolved by an absolute majority vote in the house, following a request by one-third of deputies or by the prime minister with the approval of the president.
Sadr's bloc emerged from last October's election as the biggest in the legislature, with 73 seats, but far short of a majority.
Since then, the country has been mired in political deadlock due to disagreement between Shia factions over forming a coalition.
In June, his lawmakers quit in a bid to break the gridlock.
Sadr's supporters had for weeks been staging a sit-in outside Iraq's parliament, after storming the legislature's interior on July 30.
READ MORE:Situation tense in Iraq as death toll from violent clashes mounts
Source: AFP
Laura Ingraham sounded off on the left-wing media trying to create the narrative that former President Donald Trump has waning political influence despite the success of his endorsed candidates on "The Ingraham Angle."
LAURA INGRAHAM: That's what's called wishful thinking, folks, because they desperately wanted Trump gone, they let that clout — whatever sliver of political judgment they ever had, if they had any to begin with. Now, check out this map of states where Trump-endorsed candidates have won so far in Senate races.
Now, for those of you keeping score at home, that's 8–0, a record in the Senate primaries. And in the House primaries, his record is 14 wins and five losses. So that's an overall success rate for all races Senate, House and governors of 95% for incumbents and 79% for non-incumbents. That winning percentage should become even more big with the now-expected victory of Kari Lake in Arizona after tonight's new batch of counted votes. Now, whatever you think of Trump's policies, his personality, does all of that look like the record of someone with waning political influence? The establishment view again is wrong on so many issues, and it was that Trump was bad for the GOP.
Former President Donald Trump.
(Getty Images)
They said that over and over — like, he turned people off. "I would never vote for him, minorities would run from him." Well, that's not panning out either. In fact, when it comes to minorities, the opposite's the case. Hispanics are more favorably inclined toward Republicans than ever before.
Reuters exclusively reported dozens of former Republican and Democratic officials announced a new national political third party yesterday to appeal to millions of voters they say are dismayed with what they see as America’s dysfunctional two-party system.
The new party, called Forward, will initially be co-chaired by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and Christine Todd Whitman, the former Republican governor of New Jersey. The new party is being formed by a merger of three political groups that have emerged in recent years as a reaction to America’s increasingly polarized and gridlocked political system.
