Al-Ha'iri Marja': No good can come from a Kurdistani party that stands against all other Kurdish parties

No good can come from a Kurdistani party that stands against all other Kurdish parties, the prominent Twelver Shi'a Marja, Grand Ayatollah Kadhim Husayni al-Haeri's media office said on Friday.

The office of Grand Ayatollah Kadhim Al-Hairi, responded regarding the tripartite alliance between the Sadrist Movement, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and the Alliance of Sovereignty, which is called the 'Save the Homeland Alliance'.

The office stated, that the alliance "has no good."

"No good could come from any alliance that depends on exclusion and ignoring partners in the homeland. No good could come from any alliance that the KDP enters, because it simply depends on denial, arrogance, and political settling like the failed experience from which the political experience in the Kurdistan Region has decayed and wants to generalize this failure in Iraq," it added.

"No good comes from a Kurdistani party that stands against the choice of all the other Kurdish parties. What does not benefit the Kurds and the experience of the Kurdistan Region does not benefit all of Iraq," it said.

The leader of the Sadrist Movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, announced Thursday evening his withdrawal with his bloc from negotiations to elect the Iraqi president and from forming the next government to allow the Coordination Framework (includes all Shiite parties but the Sadrist Movement) to negotiate with the political forces in this regard.

“In order for Iraq to not remain without government and for the security, economic and service situations and others to not deteriorate, here I give the (obstructing third) a chance to negotiate with all blocs without exception to form a national majority government without the Sadrist bloc from the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan to the ninth of the month of Shawwal Al-Mu'dham (Hijri month)," Sadr said in a tweet.

The call of the leader of the Sadrist Movement received mixed reactions.

On Friday, the Sunni Sovereignty Alliance and the KDP affirmed their adherence to their alliance and the continuation of the partnership with the Sadrist bloc.

"We appreciate Sadr's position and his initiative towards expediting the formation of a strong government that works to address the complex issues facing the Iraqi people. We affirm our adherence to our partnership with the Sadrist bloc, and a strong government cannot be born without their partnership,” a joint statement by Sovereignty Alliance and the KDP said.

The attempt of some parties within the Kurdish component to monopolize positions under the pretext of winning the most seats in the Iraqi parliament, specifically the position of Iraqi President, has caused a rift within the Kurdish house, as the Kurdish blocs found themselves on one front and the KDP alone on another.

The head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) bloc in the Iraqi parliament, Harem Kamal Agha, said, "Without a doubt, any party's monopoly in power will eventually lead to dangerous results, which contradict the principle of democracy on which the political system was founded in Iraq, and the Kurdish House was also damaged by this division... for example, the main crises suffered by the people of Kurdistan have become secondary issues because if this division,” noting that “splitting the unity of the Shiite house by some parties has made the Kurds lose their credibility before their Shiite friends.”

Agha pointed out that "the PUK always and forever aims to make the democratic process successful and bring the country to safety, and also emphasizes that solving the problems between the federal government and the Kurdistan Region is in Baghdad and not the neighboring countries."

After some failed attempts to elect the new Iraqi president, the Iraqi Parliament once again postponed its session to elect the new President last Wednesday due to a lack of quorum. 

To make a quorum for the session, an attendance of at least 220 members of parliament is required. Sadr and his allies hold approximately 170 seats, while their rivals hold nearly 130 seats.

The independent MPs’ seats are estimated to be around 40.

Six months after the election, Iraq has only been able to elect the Parliament Presidency. The country is currently at a deadlock as political parties have failed to reach an agreement on forming the government.

Forty candidates are competing for the position of President of the Republic. The post has traditionally been reserved for the Kurdish parties since the elections of 2005.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has re-nominated current Iraqi President Barham Salih.



PUKmedia