Parliamentary Election in Iraq: A Temporary Winner?

The Shiite cleric al-Sadr’s party won the parliamentary elections in Iraq. Whether he can achieve his claim to leadership is open: There is resistance to the result.

No smile, no triumphant gesture. The winner of this parliamentary election wants to radiate seriousness and dignity in front of his supporters, just as it should be for a Shiite cleric: “It is time for the Iraqis to finally live in peace,” he says, “without occupation, without terrorism, without armed militias and kidnapping and all the terror that damages the image of our country “.

Muktada al-Sadr knows how to strike a conciliatory tone in this country tormented by war and terror so soon after the election victory. The 49-year-old is also a real populist, whose advisors allegedly advised him to color his beard a little grayer in order to appear older and more authoritarian.

An election winner with a past

With more than 70 of the 329 parliamentary seats for his Shiite movement, nothing works without al-Sadr. He himself does not have the ambition to take over the office of prime minister, but he will lay claim to it for his Shiite tendency. His appearance after the election is intended to demonstrate power both internally and externally: “We welcome all foreign representatives.” But nobody should interfere in our affairs, warns the cleric. “We would reject that. Iraq belongs only to the Iraqis.”

Al-Sadr has sufficiently proven in Iraq’s bloody past that he is serious. With his so-called Mahdi Army, he fought the American occupation army so bitterly that the USA declared him a wanted public enemy.

Now that the US is showing less and less interest in the Middle Eastern sources of fire, al-Sadr is primarily opposing Iranian influence. In return, his voters celebrate him in the impoverished areas of Baghdad and other cities. “Our leader,” they say, “will not tolerate any foreign interference. We Iraqis have voted, nobody has a say, neither in the West nor our neighbor in the East. We decide our future.”

Parliamentary election is being contested

How it will look, however, remains uncertain. The Iran-dependent parties in Iraq and the Hashd al-Shaabi, the militias financed and controlled by Iran, have already announced that they will not accept the result of the parliamentary elections. It is a fraud, they say, a hoax, the pro-Iranian politician Hadi al-Amiri wants to challenge the election.

This could lead to a conflict within the Iraqi Shia. Al-Sadr may also fear that: “Celebrate this great victory that we have achieved, he says in front of his supporters, but please celebrate without weapons and do not disturb anyone, thank you.”

Winners and losers – Iraq after the election

Martin Durm, SWR, October 12th, 2021 7:00 p.m.