Iraqi lawmakers from firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr’s bloc resigned Sunday, the parliamentary speaker said, in a move designed to up pressure to end an eight-month political paralysis. “We have reluctantly accepted the requests of our brothers and sisters, representatives of the Sadr bloc, to resign,” parliament’s speaker Mohammed al-Halbussi said on Twitter after receiving resignation letters from the 73 lawmakers.
Sadr on Thursday had urged the MPs from his bloc — the biggest in parliament — to ready resignation papers, in a bid, he said, to break the parliamentary logjam and create space for the establishment of a new government.
Parliament in Baghdad has been in turmoil since October’s general election, and intense negotiations among political factions have failed to forge a majority in support of a new prime minister to succeed Mustafa al-Kadhemi.
Credit:rfi
