Video footage showed Muqtada al-Sadr’s supporters flocked in large numbers to the Great Celebrations Square in the heavily fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad, to participate in the prayer that the Sadrist movement mobilizes, even if it is a “million”.
Al-Sadr’s supporters came to this open arena despite the high temperature, which reached 50 degrees Celsius, while some supporters tried to protect themselves with umbrellas and whatever was available to them to cover their heads.
A week ago, Sadr’s supporters have been protesting at the headquarters of the Iraqi parliament, expressing their rejection of the nomination of Muhammad Shia al-Sudani as prime minister, whom they consider to be a follower of former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, al-Sadr’s main opponent.
Al-Sadr’s popular movement in recent days is seen as an attempt to pressure his political opponents.
Al-Sadr called for early parliamentary elections and has already begun efforts in this context, which the Coordination Framework Forces, his main opponent, said they are “open” to.
Iraq has been living in a political crisis since the last elections, which were held in October of last year, as the political forces failed to reach a consensual formula to rule the country.
Al-Sadr won the largest bloc in the last elections with 73 members out of 329 members, but he failed to form a government during the past months.
After that, Al-Sadr asked his deputies in Parliament to submit their resignations, which has already been done, and according to the constitution, they were replaced by the candidates who ranked second in their constituencies, which practically led to the rise of the majority of the coordination framework candidates.
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