Page 8 - MEOG Week 13 2022

MEOG POLICY & SECURITY MEOG

Iraq still struggling to

form a new government

IRAQ HAVING failed in its latest attempt to elect a Sadr last week launched a new parliamen-
new president, Iraq is rapidly approaching the tary bloc as he sought to secure a coalition. The
decision deadline of April 6, after which point cleric formed the Save the Nation alliance along
Parliament could be dissolved. with the KDP, which is led by Kurdistan’s ruling
For the second time in as many months, the Barzani family, the Sunni Al Siyada Alliance,
weekend’s ballot among the 329 members of which includes parliamentary speaker Moham-
parliament could not be held, as only 202 MPs med Al Halbousi’s Progress Party, and the Azm
turned up for the vote, short of the 220 required alliance.
to achieve a two-thirds quorum. Sadr also nominated his cousin Mohammed
While the role of president, currently held by Jaafar Al-Sadr for PM and the KDP’s Rebar
Barhim Saleh of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Ahmed Khalid as president.
(PUK), is largely ceremonial, the position-holder Hassan Al Adhari, head of the Sadrist bloc,
is responsible for formally naming a new prime said: “We are seeking to form a national major-
minister, who in turn must be backed by an abso- ity government and vow to complete the reform
lute majority in the country’s parliament. process through a clear and transparent govern-
The current government, led by Prime Minis- ment programme free of external interference.”
ter Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, continues to carry out
its duties as caretaker, though the present situa- Sanctions waiver
tion cannot continue much longer. The Iraqi government received another 120-day
A vote on February 7 was unable to proceed, sanctions waiver this week, enabling it to con-
as MPs boycotted the ballot amid accusations tinue importing gas and electricity from neigh-
of historic corruption against Kurdistan Dem- bouring Iran.
ocratic Party (KDP) candidate Hoshyar Zebari, Iraq Oil Report quoted a US State Depart-
who the Cabinet barred from taking part on ment official as saying that the waiver had been
February 13. In that same ruling, the Cabinet renewed, to ensure “that Iraq is able to meet its
gave Parliament until April 6 to decide on a new short-term energy needs while it takes steps
president, with the situation having dragged on to reduce its dependence on Iranian energy
since the October elections, which saw Shi’ite imports”.
cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr’s Sadrist bloc pick up the Iraq imports around 1,200 MW of electricity
most seats with 73. Sunni group Taqadum came from Iran alongside up to 51mn cubic metres
second with 37 seats and former Prime Minister of gas, which is used for gas-fired power plants
Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Party was third to help fill an almost 10,000-MW shortfall in
with 33 seats. generation.™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 13 30•March•2022