15 July 2022
Hundreds of thousands of Muslim worshippers loyal to Iraqi Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr attended a Friday prayer service in Baghdad, in a display of political might to revive stalled talks on government formation.
The huge turnout came despite scorching heat and the Shiite cleric not being there in person — an indication of his status as a political heavyweight, as well as a key religious authority.
“Thanks to God for this great victory… Thank you to Friday’s faithful,” Sadr said on Twitter.
The midday prayer, on Al-Falah Avenue in Sadr City, was led by a Sadr ally, while the mercurial cleric’s sermon took aim at rivals from other Shiite factions, including a powerful ex-paramilitary network.
“We are at a difficult… crossroads in the formation of the government, entrusted to some we do not trust,” said Sheikh Mahmud al-Jayashi, reading Sadr’s speech.
Some factions have shown they are “not up to the task”, he added.
Sadr’s bloc won 73 seats in the October 2021 election, making it the largest faction in the 329-seat parliament.
But since the vote, talks to form a new government have stalled and the oil-rich country remains mired in a political and socioeconomic crisis, despite elevated global oil prices.
The various Shiite political factions, representing Iraq’s largest community, remain unable to agree on a new prime minister.
Source: Monitor
