BAGHDAD: Emulating Amidst Iraq confronting the longest post-election deadlock, hundreds of supporters of the populist Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr broke into Iraq’s parliament on Wednesday. Iraqis protesting corruption, bad governance broke into the parliament building chanting slogans against Iran-aligned groups.
Infighting among Shi`ite and Kurdish groups in particular has prevented the formation of a government in the country. The impasse has hindered the much-needed reforms for a country struggling to recover from decades of conflict.
The country has now been for a record 290 days without a head of state or cabinet with lawmakers unable to come to consensus nine months after election back in October 2021. The current impasse broke the 2010 record of 289 days.
Amid the political paralysis, Iraq has been left without a budget for 2022. This has held up spending on much-needed infrastructure projects and economic reform.
“There’s no government, so there’s no budget, streets remain potholed, power and water are scarce and there’s poor healthcare and education,” said Mohammed Mohammed, a 68-year-old retired civil servant from the southern city of Nassiriya.