Spurred by Demonstrators, Iraqi Lawmakers Start Voting for New Cabinet
Followers of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr march toward parliament, which elected some new ministers before adjourning
Followers of Iraq’s Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr chant
slogans during a protest Tuesday in the Iraqi capital Baghdad demanding
that parliament approves a new cabinet and end political and sectarian
wrangling. Photo: Reuters
The demonstrators convened in central Baghdad’s Tahrir Square in response to a call from Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, waving Iraqi flags amid festering dissatisfaction over rampant corruption and bitterness over economic stagnation and the country’s military inefficacy against Islamic State, which still holds a quarter of Iraqi territory.
They marched to the gates of the International Zone, the heavily secured area that houses government offices and foreign embassies.
The protesters said they wouldn’t leave the square until parliament voted in a new leadership unaffiliated with Iraqi political parties, most of which are aligned with the country’s many ethnic and sectarian identities. Many Iraqi politicians have expressed concerns, however, that Mr. Sadr’s followers are really pressing sectarian demands. By evening many had dispersed, with those who remained leaving the International Zone and returning to the square to sleep.
The beginning of the cabinet voting appeared to appease Mr. Sadr and his supporters for the time being.
“Today the change has been achieved by your insistence,” said Khadhum al-Essawi, an assistant to Mr. Sadr, in an address to protesters Tuesday evening. “We are demanding to change the whole cabinet with no exceptions, but we accepted the current change just to let things move on.”
Parliament announced lawmakers cast their ballots on seven ministerial posts on Tuesday, correcting earlier state television reports that they had voted on nine. Among the posts they voted on, the parliament retained only the justice and education ministers from the current government. Speaker Salim al-Jubori suspended voting until Thursday for a remaining 21 positions.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi last year announced a slate of reforms intended to reduce the size of government, diminish sectarian quotas in the cabinet and improve the delivery of basic services, including electricity.
But ministers and lawmakers, many of whom rely on corruption and a system of patronage based on the sectarian quotas, have repeatedly delayed voting on them.
Parliament’s installation of a technocratic cabinet would mark a major departure from Iraq’s long-standing political tradition in which parties representing ethnic and religious groups—primarily Kurds and Sunni and Shiite Arabs—grapple for power.
The political turmoil threatens Iraq’s already fragile government, which has struggled to turn back Islamic State’s gains. Since oil prices plummeted in 2014, unemployment has soared.
Thousands of Mr. Sadr’s followers protested in Baghdad last month, their sit-in breaching the gates of the International Zone. They were joined by a cross-sectarian group of legislators who demanded the resignation of Mr. Jubori, Mr. Abadi and Iraqi President Fouad Masoum.
Some of those lawmakers have staged a sit-in in the parliament building, sparking fistfights and shouting matches. Parliamentary leaders shut off the chambers’ water and power last week in a bid to oust them.
The insurgent members repeatedly interrupted Tuesday’s parliament session, shouting that the session was illegal and calling for the dismissal of top leaders, including Mr. Jubori, who later moved the session to another room in the assembly hall to avoid further disruption.
It was unclear if the approval of the seven new ministers would end the sit-in.
“Such opposition and chanting inside the parliament is a democratic thing, but we also believe that this delays parliament’s performance,” said Majid Shingali, a parliamentarian who participated in the vote.
State television said 180 members were in attendance, but past head counts have been disputed. A quorum mandates that 165 be present.
