Initiatives no longer work, only direct dialogue is needed to resolve political deadlock in Iraq, experts say

Observers and political analysts affirmed that direct dialogue is the best solution to address the political deadlock in Iraq and that the time for initiatives is over, and the political parties must realize this.

More than 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 electing the new president and forming the government.

Regarding the matter, Iraqi political analyst Wa'iq al-Jabri said in an exclusive statement to PUKmedia, "the era of offering political initiatives between the parties has ended, and we need a direct dialogue that addresses the political impasse that Iraq is going through."

"The initiative launched by the Coordination Framework includes the formation of committees and the initiation of direct dialogue, and the political parties have realized that the constitutional terms have expired and there is no room for delay, and a direct dialogue must be conducted to address all differences," he said.

"The time for initiatives is over and direct dialogue is the best solution to address all differences, and the political forces must deal with the political deadlock realistically," he added.

The Coordination Framework launched a nine-point initiative last Wednesday which revolved around the same contents of the previous initiatives and statements in preventing the formation of a national majority government.

For his part, political observer Jamal al-Asadi told PUKmedia that the mutual initiatives outline the course of the political process, but Iraq needs more dialogue and understanding between the political parties to get out of the current crisis.

"The mutual initiatives to form the government comes within the framework of convergence of views, and I believe that the political forces will be able to overcome and cross this crisis through direct dialogue between them," he said.

"The political parties must reach a solution to the current crisis, because if it continues, it portends the occurrence of other things, and there are not many difficult issues that the two parties cannot agree on, as all matters can be overcome by dialogue and understanding," he added.

The political parties in Iraq have mainly been divided between two parties, the Coordination Framework (which includes all Shiite parties except the Sadrist party) and the Sadrist Movement and its allies who together formed the Save the Homeland alliance which is consisted of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the Sadrist bloc, and the Sunnis Al-Siyada Alliance.

The two sides struggle to agree on electing a new president for the country. Every session to elect the president has been delayed due to a lack of quorum in the parliament. While the Coordination Framework calls for a consensus government, the Sadrist side wants to form a national majority 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), which has been holding the position since 2005, has re-nominated the current Iraqi President Barham Salih.



PUKmedia