Shiite element crisis overshadows local council polls in Iraq

Mustafa Mohamed

Signs of a new crisis have emerged inside Iraq between Shiite parties, especially the Dawa Party which is led by former prime minister Nuri al-Maliki, and the Sadrist Movement which is led by Muqtada al-Sadr.

These signs are manifesting themselves, particularly after parties affiliated to the Sadrist Movement accused Dawa Party of provoking Shiite-Shiite seditions by using violence and arms.

The Sadrist Movement accused both the Coordination Framework that leads the government and the Dawa Party of insulting al-Sadr.

Experts believe, meanwhile, that these developments are closely associated with preparations for the local council elections which are expected to witness the return of the Sadrist Movement to the political arena.

Signs of a crisis

Al-Sadr accused on July 17 some unnamed parties of provoking a Shiite-Shiite sedition by using violence and weapons.

He called on the Iraqi parliament to enact a law that criminalizes insults against religious symbols and scholars.

He wrote on Twitter: “Some hateful parties hastened to spread Shiite-Shiite seditions by using violence and arms against some headquarters”.

He referred to parties that would not hesitate to shed blood and spread sedition for worldly spoils.

Online accounts affiliated to the Sadrist Movement also accused parties in the Coordination Framework of insulting al-Sadr.

Some leaders of the movement also directly accused the Dawa Party of being behind this campaign of abuse.

This caused Sadrist Movement supporters to storm and close the headquarters of the Dawa Party in several Iraqi provinces.

However, the Dawa Party denied these accusations.

Relations between Sadr and Maliki

Since 2008, the Sadrist Movement’s relationship has remained politically tense with the state of Law Coalition which is headed by Maliki.

As prime minister of Iraq (2006-2014), Maliki launched a military campaign with the support of US forces in March 2008 aimed at ending the control of Shiite armed groups in the southern provinces of Iraq.

The campaign ended with the fall of the last strongholds of the Sadrist Movement’s Mahdi Army in Basra at the end of April 2008.

The importance of the local council elections stems from the fact that they are being held for the first time since 2013.

Local council members will have the power to appoint governors and senior executive officials in the different provinces.

They also have the authority to approve the service and development projects needed in the provinces and determine their share of the state budget.