UPDATED: Sadr movement focuses on election change in meeting with Gorran
By Rudaw yesterday at 11:26
Kawa Muhammed, head of Gorran’s faction in the Iraqi parliament, and Shekh Sabah Saadi, the Sadr delegation spokesperson in Sulaimani. Photo: Rudaw TV
SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region — A Sadr delegation headed by Muqtada al-Sadr’s nephew, Ahmed Sadr,
visited Gorran party’s main headquarters in the city of Sulaimani,
where the visiting group stressed its desire to correct the political
process in Iraq, while Gorran indicated it was not willing to allow its
votes “to be sold.”
“Muqtada al-Sadr has two clear projects which are about post Mosul liberation and reforms in the elections,” said Shekh Sabah Saadi, the Sadr delegation spokesperson at a joint press conference after the meeting.
“They are intended to correct the establishments and are for the sake of the political process which is based on a false principle. We should rectify this, ourselves. We don’t have any other projects outside these.”
Gorran didn’t announce any commitment to align itself with Sadr. Kawa Muhammed, head of Gorran’s faction in the Iraqi parliament, stood with Saadi after the meeting for the press conference.
“The Kurdistani Nation will never allow its voice, its vote and its will to be sold for posts, position and power in Baghdad,” Gorran wrote in a tweet.
The Sadr delegation was received by a high Gorran delegation.
The Sadr movement is an opposition in the Iraqi government, and is in disagreement with Shiites especially Nouri al-Maliki and the incumbent Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. Hence, they are seeking new alliances — an opportunity in the Kurdistan Region.
The Sadr delegation earlier this week had met with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Kurdistan’s Islamic Union in Erbil. They are due to meet with the Islamic Group of Kurdistan later.
“Our project is for a strong Iraq. We need the support of the political parties of the Kurdistan Region for its implementation,” Sabah Saadi said in a joint press conference with PUK on Monday.
Sadr has long been calling for changes to the election law and the electoral commission whose president is from the KDP. Supporters of Sadr have, on his call, marched in the streets of Baghdad many times demanding such government reforms.
Sadr’s party believes the change is in the interests of the Iraqi people.
The next provincial elections are due to be held in September. Given the ongoing displacement and fight against ISIS, some Iraqi politicians have said they may not take place until 2018.
“Muqtada al-Sadr has two clear projects which are about post Mosul liberation and reforms in the elections,” said Shekh Sabah Saadi, the Sadr delegation spokesperson at a joint press conference after the meeting.
“They are intended to correct the establishments and are for the sake of the political process which is based on a false principle. We should rectify this, ourselves. We don’t have any other projects outside these.”
Gorran didn’t announce any commitment to align itself with Sadr. Kawa Muhammed, head of Gorran’s faction in the Iraqi parliament, stood with Saadi after the meeting for the press conference.
“The Kurdistani Nation will never allow its voice, its vote and its will to be sold for posts, position and power in Baghdad,” Gorran wrote in a tweet.
The Sadr delegation was received by a high Gorran delegation.
The Sadr movement is an opposition in the Iraqi government, and is in disagreement with Shiites especially Nouri al-Maliki and the incumbent Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. Hence, they are seeking new alliances — an opportunity in the Kurdistan Region.
The Sadr delegation earlier this week had met with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Kurdistan’s Islamic Union in Erbil. They are due to meet with the Islamic Group of Kurdistan later.
“Our project is for a strong Iraq. We need the support of the political parties of the Kurdistan Region for its implementation,” Sabah Saadi said in a joint press conference with PUK on Monday.
Sadr has long been calling for changes to the election law and the electoral commission whose president is from the KDP. Supporters of Sadr have, on his call, marched in the streets of Baghdad many times demanding such government reforms.
Sadr’s party believes the change is in the interests of the Iraqi people.
The next provincial elections are due to be held in September. Given the ongoing displacement and fight against ISIS, some Iraqi politicians have said they may not take place until 2018.
