Shafaq News/ Two sources from within the coordination framework reported, on Sunday, that the framework forces submitted a request to the religious authority, Ali al-Sistani, to intervene to resolve the ongoing dispute with the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr.
One of the sources told Shafak News Agency, “The coordinating framework forces collectively submitted to Al-Sistani a referendum, i.e. in the form of a request for intervention from the reference regarding the dispute between the framework and al-Sadr.”
The source added, “The position of the decisive coordination framework regarding everything that is going on in the political arena will be determined by what the session on the largest parliamentary bloc will reveal,” adding that it is likely that “a meeting will be held between the framework forces with Al-Sadr, to resolve the political movement and participation in the government or not.”
Another source told the agency, “Sistani has not responded yet, but he may interfere in the so-called last-hour dialogues or last positions if he is convinced or confirms that there is a danger to Iraq on the one hand, or to abolish the Shiite role in the political scene by fragmenting it from On the other hand”.
For his part, a source close to Al-Sistani’s reference told Shafak News Agency, that the reference distances itself from interfering with the course of the political process, and it does not represent a specific sect, but rather it sponsors Iraqis in general and is concerned with the interests of the Iraqi people in general without any discrimination.
Attempts to enter parties from the coordination framework in a national majority government that Muqtada al-Sadr is confronting, jointly with the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and the alliance of those who advanced headed by Muhammad al-Halbousi, and Azm headed by Khamis al-Khanjar, faltered.
{Economic: Al Furat News} The Joint Chamber of Commerce between Iran and Iraq denied the news about Baghdad releasing frozen Iranian assets.
A member of the Chamber’s Board of Directors, Hamid Hosseini, told the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA), that “the Iranian and Iraqi parties” reached a conclusion several times regarding the release of Iranian funds, but on the ground nothing happened.
He added that “there is some coordination between Iraq and America to free Iran’s money, and licenses were issued to export commodities such as foodstuffs and medicines to Iran through these balances, but there are difficulties on the way to implementation that prevented anything from happening or the process being very slow.”
Commenting on the news about the liberation of Iranian assets amounting to 5 billion dollars in Iraq, based on two letters from two Iranian institutions calling on Iranian companies to send lists of necessary commodities (foodstuffs and medicines) to be imported through the Iranian funds frozen in Iraq, Hosseini said that “this matter is not new; Several months ago, it was proposed to use the funds with the Trade Bank of Iraq” to import these goods.
He explained that Iran, through the balances in the Trade Bank of Iraq, purchased part of its share of the anti-Corona vaccines in the “Kofax” program sponsored by the World Health Organization, “but there are problems in using these funds on a more scale than that.”
Regarding the executive mechanism for using the frozen funds in Iraq according to the Iraqi-American understanding, a member of the Iranian-Iraqi Chamber of Commerce said, “The Iranian merchant must register his papers in the name of an Iraqi merchant who purchases the needs of commodities. After completing the transaction, he receives the amount from the Iranian money in Iraq.”
In the context, Hosseini added that “many merchants do not trust this method due to the existing sanctions and restrictions, and therefore this solution has become useless.”
He added, “Iraqi merchants do not have a great deal of activity in the overall commodity trade, and their trade in this area is limited, so the final price of the commodities proposed to the Iranians is higher than the prices of their import through other paths.”
There are estimates that the volume of Iranian funds frozen in Iraq amounts to $5 billion, according to Hosseini, who added that “an important part of it is the proceeds of electricity exports,” noting that Iraq deposited these funds with the Trade Bank of Iraq.
{Economic: Al Furat News} The current deputy and member of the Finance Committee in the former parliament, Jamal Cougar, revealed today, Sunday, a set of options regarding the 2022 budget, including the dollar exchange rate.
Cougar told {Euphrates News}, that “we expect to send the budget to the House of Representatives immediately after the formation of the government,” noting that “there are a number of options presented to it, including to “send the budget as prepared by the current government”, or to “make some changes in prices.” exchange the dollar” or that it is “fundamentally changed”.
Cougar added: “Or the exchange rate will be kept according to the Financial Management Law 12/1, and this is somewhat unlikely.”
{Sports: Al Furat News} The Minister of Youth and Sports, Adnan Darjal, discussed in his office today, Sunday, with the Swedish Ambassador to Iraq Jonas Lofan, strengthening cooperation between the two countries in the youth and sports sectors.
A statement by the ministry, which the agency {Euphrates News} received a copy of, said, “Derjal stated that the interest of the two friendly countries is strengthened in strengthening bilateral relations and is certainly aimed at rebuilding Iraq and benefiting from the Swedish expertise in various sectors.” The Minister of Youth stated, “The country is in dire need of development in various fields, including work in the dynamic and most effective sports and youth sectors, and that the Kingdom of Sweden has a prominent global position in these areas and a distinguished accumulated experience.” He continued by saying, “Iraq is working hard on a project to create champions in individual games through the Hero Academy project to make champions competing for Olympic medals, and it is hoped that this promising project will be launched within ten days in full.” Dargal noted, “ He noted that “Iraq is seeking to host an important international team in Baghdad in order to lift the ban on Iraqi stadiums, and that the presence of the Swedish national team in the Iraqi capital represents an important message to the world and the International Federation.” For his part, the Swedish ambassador valued the role of the Minister of Youth and Sports in the youth and sports sectors, expressing his desire to cooperate through the sports and youth sector and that he is very keen to activate this cooperation to serve the two countries and will work on this in the coming days because Sweden has professional sports academies and has a long history in several Games and he would also be very happy that his country’s national team is present in Baghdad and will definitely work on that matter, noting that the Iraqi community in Sweden represents 2% of the population and has a lot of competencies at all levels.
Shafaq News/ The Kurdish leader, Massoud Barzani, met with the commander of the Iranian Quds Force, Ismail Qaani, in Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan Region.
An informed political source told Shafaq News Agency, that the meeting discussed the file of forming the Iraqi government and the atmosphere surrounding it.
The source did not give more details.
Qaani had arrived in Baghdad 01-25-2022 on his second visit within a month, after a round of talks in the capital, Baghdad and Najaf, in which he did not reach results that would lead to a Shiite consensus regarding the formation of the government.
Attempts to enter parties from the coordination framework in a national majority government that Muqtada al-Sadr is confronting, jointly with the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and the alliance of those who advanced headed by Muhammad al-Halbousi, and Azm headed by Khamis al-Khanjar, faltered.
Shafaq News/ An informed political source told Shafaq News Agency that the Iraqi parliament session scheduled to be held next week will witness “passing” the presidents of the republic and the ministers “in one basket.”
The source explained, “The upcoming parliament session, which is scheduled to be devoted to voting on candidates for the position of the presidency, will also witness the nomination of a candidate for the presidency of the Council of Ministers by the Sadrist bloc, in agreement with the main poles of the strategic alliance between (the Sadrist bloc emanating from the Sadrist movement led by Muqtada al-Sadr and my alliance of progress). And Azm led by Muhammad al-Halbousi, as well as the Democratic Alliance led by Massoud Barzani.
He added, “The Sadrists thought it better to shorten the road and nominate a candidate – he did not name him to obtain the assignment of the President of the Republic – especially after the coordination framework announced its position on the alliance with al-Sadr without the leader of the rule of law, meaning that he refuses to enter with al-Sadr in a majority government without al-Maliki, the matter.” Which determined the form of the relationship between the two parties (the framework – al-Sadr), thus ensuring the completion of the formation of the new government in a quick time, no later than next March,” noting that “the position of the coordinating framework forces that adheres to the leader of the State of Law coalition, Nuri al-Maliki, pushed towards accelerating the process of selecting a number of candidates.” to head the next government and put them to a vote during the next session.
Article 76, first, of the Iraqi constitution states, “The President of the Republic assigns the candidate of the parliamentary bloc the most numerous to form the Council of Ministers within fifteen days from the date of the election of the President of the Republic.”
And the source indicated, “The parliament session scheduled to be held next Monday (the seventh of next February) will witness the vote on the President of the Republic, and all the data indicate that the Democratic Party candidate (Hoshyar Zebari) will pass comfortably, according to the agreement between the main political forces (the Sadrist bloc and the Alliance of Progress and Resolve). and chords).
The leader of the Al-Fateh Alliance, Hadi al-Amiri, had earlier demanded that all Iraqi political forces end what he described as political stubbornness and put the country’s interests above all else.
Al-Amiri made it clear, during a meeting with political figures, that he was not against forming a national majority government, but without monopolizing power and excluding others, in reference to Muqtada al-Sadr’s insistence on excluding Nuri al-Maliki from the formation of the next government.
The sources suggested the possibility of the Al-Fateh coalition led by Al-Amiri separating from the coordination framework and joining Al-Sadr, but the former Prime Minister (Al-Maliki), and according to informed sources, demanded from all the leaders of the framework not to disintegrate and cohesion and that if one of them separates, he (Al-Maliki) will abandon him regardless of his political weight. or popular.
Today, Sunday, the Ministry of Industry and Minerals revealed that it had signed with Jordan to establish an economic city, while it revealed that it had received requests from 4 countries to establish industrial cities in Iraq.
The Director General of the Industrial Cities Authority of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, Hamid Awad Muhammad, said, in a statement to the official Iraq Agency: “After the issuance of the Industrial Cities Authority Law No. 2 of 2019, the role of the Industrial Cities Authority was activated during the second half of 2020,” noting that “the Authority It was able to establish industrial cities in all governorates.
He added, “The establishment of industrial cities comes due to their importance in providing services and providing job opportunities for young people, as well as bypassing slums by building industrial cities with services that have been focused on and given great importance. Therefore, such cities were established in each governorate.”
He pointed out that “the first agreement for an economic city was signed with Jordan, and the procedures were completed for the purpose of declaring it,” noting that “those cities are of great importance, including their geographical location, which is located on the borders, in addition to some desert areas, which may be loose in security and will turn into populated areas. population, production lines, and services to the country.”
He pointed out, “There is a tendency from neighboring countries to build industrial cities in Iraq, and we have received several offers from Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Kuwait,” stressing that “the next stage is the stage of industrial cities, which will be very important to support the country’s economy.”
He noted that “during a record period, the first contract was signed in the holy Karbala for the construction of an industrial city specialized in petrochemicals and engineering within an area of 5300 acres,” noting that “
Supporters of Iraqi Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr perform the weekly Friday prayers in the Sadr City suburb of Iraq’s capital Baghdad on January 28, 2022. Photo: Ahmad al-Rubaye/ AFP
A+A-Iraq’s government formation is once again moving forward now that the Federal Court deemed the first session of the new parliament constitutional, paving the way to elect Iraq’s next president and then designating the candidate of the largest bloc as prime minister.
In a statement issued January 25, the Speaker of Parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi announced that February 7 is the date set to elect the president. As a result, Sadrist leader, Muqtada al-Sadr, arrived unannounced in Baghdad on January 26. However, even with this momentum tense situations and entrenchments between the competing fronts continue.
Sadr reveals his cards and the Coordination Framework resists
Sadr published a televised speech on January 25, in which he recounted the reasons for his positions on the largest bloc and the formation of the national majority government. He started by saying, “our defenders are diminishing,” and he is following in his father’s footsteps who resorted to televised speeches to defend himself. Sadr revealed hidden discussions with other Shiite parties before and after the early elections, defended his insistence on forming a majority government, and called on the competing parties to accept the principle of the democratic game and turn towards the opposition. He stressed, we “still insist on the government of the national majority,” relying on the participation of some parties within the Coordination Framework, but not all of them. He added that Hadi “al-Amiri came alone [January 15], and we sat down and agreed that some within the Framework would join, and Amiri agreed to that without Nouri al-Maliki. And later we waited for a few days, and then the news came back to me that no, we retracted our agreement.”
The Coordination Framework continued to reject the idea of a government of the national majority without the participation of others. “The continuation of the exclusionary approach means pushing the entities that obtained the majority of citizens’ votes in the last elections combined to go to the opposition or boycott,” reads a January 25 statement. The Framework considers that excluding parts of it is at the expense of the Shiite component, warning: “this is a cause of unfairness and injustice that leads to more instability.”
Sadr had expressed in his televised speech his hope that the Framework and the head of the Fatih Alliance, Hadi Al-Amiri, would change this position. An informed source stated that Sadr came to Baghdad to hold dialogues with political forces, particularly with some leaders within the Framework. Still, with the lack of response from the Framework and a failure to arrange any meeting in this regard, he returned immediately to Al-Najaf empty-handed.
The presidential race
In conjunction with the leading Shiite forces reaching an apparent deadlock, the dispute escalated between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) led by Bafel Talabani and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Masoud Barzani over the position of the President of the Republic. The PUK considers the position as theirs according to the political custom since 2006. The post is seen by many as essential to preserving the balance of power, with the KDP receiving the presidency of the Kurdistan Region. At the same time, the KDP believes that its numerical majority and its alliance with the Sadrist Movement and the Sunni Sovereignty Alliance are enough to win the position in a well-defined strategy to dominate the Kurdish presence in both the Iraqi and Kurdish political arenas.
The competition for the Presidency will be fierce with the approaching date of choosing and naming the next President on February 7. The two parties both have reasons that reinforce their conviction of victory. Some observers believe that the tripartite alliance gives the KDP solid ground and more chances, especially since the speaker of parliament is in their grip. In contrast, other observers believe that the political atmosphere in Baghdad is in favor of the PUK regarding the presidency. And the majority of political forces consider the PUK’s winning the position as rebalancing the political equation. As a result, these forces will vote for the PUK candidate. In other words, it is going to be a close race between the two, and it is difficult to tell who will come out on top.
Return of the Federal Court to the foreground
The Federal Court may come back to the fore to decide on a crucial legal argument related to article 70 of the Constitution. There is a deep debate among legal scholars about the interpretation of the said article, which states: “First: The Parliament elects from among the candidates a President of the Republic by a two-thirds majority of its members. Second: If none of the candidates obtains the required majority, the competition will take place among the two candidates obtaining the highest number of votes, the one who obtains the majority of votes in the second ballot shall be declared President.”
Legal expert Jamal al-Asadi says that “the principle of quorum by which the mechanism for electing the republic’s president is established, which is two-thirds of the number of members of the Parliament, or 220 deputies.”
In contrast, other legal scholars believe that the quorum for any session in the Parliament is half plus one, as stated in Article 59 of the Constitution. And that Article 70 does not require the presence of two-thirds during voting but instead stipulates the candidate must obtain two-thirds of votes to win in the first round. Otherwise, there will be a second round, and the winner can become president by obtaining a simple majority of votes.
Observers believe that the speaker of parliament may go with the second opinion and start the voting process as long as the quorum exists, even if two-thirds of the members do not attend.
Therefore, the Federal Court should intervene before the session takes place on February 7 to avoid any controversy over whether or not two-thirds should attend before the vote on choosing the President of the Republic.
Political troubles reflect on Iraq’s security situation
What is clear here is that the political process has entered a deadlock. Sadr’s visit to Baghdad and his abrupt departure without meeting with the Coordination Framework leaders is clear evidence that both sides are stubbornly sticking to their positions rather than being flexible. Amid a noticeable increase in security violations, such as the targeting of the speaker’ guest house by Katyusha rockets on January 25, the rocket attack on Baghdad International Airport on Friday, and the attacks on the headquarters of the parties within the tripartite alliance, in addition to a series of security events that observers see as efforts to put pressure on specific political forces.
These violations increased the condemnations and the exchanges of veiled accusations by the political leaders. Sadr tweeted, “Do not target the interests of the people, for the people and the country are a red line. We will continue with a national majority government with our partners in the country.” The leader of Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, Qais al-Khazali, tweeted, “There are agendas that want to shuffle the cards, especially at this critical time. There are forces, political figures, and media outlets that want to exploit these events for political misrepresentation by explicitly or implicitly directing accusations to specific parties without any evidence.”
The security situation is expected to deteriorate in the coming days due to the failure of the security forces to monitor and prevent the movements of the armed groups carrying out these attacks.
On the other hand, the rift between the two main Kurdish parties over the position of the presidency is deepening day after day, with each of them trying to win over the political forces in Baghdad. It is difficult to predict the losing party’s behavior and position, whether in Baghdad or the Kurdistan Region. Still, there are great fears that the gap between the two parties will reach the point of dividing the region into two administrations.
So far, no evidence on the horizon indicates the possibility of resolving political matters between the Kurds on one side and the Coordination Framework and the Sadrists on the other. There is no neutral party mediating between them to ensure they do not collide.
There is no doubt that the next few days will be more complex than those that have passed, as conflicting political forces adhere to their hard-line positions. The Shiite dispute will escalate when choosing the Prime Minister-Designate and government formation starts. We will be approaching the possibilities of political confrontation during that time, which may develop into physical clashes among supporters.
The country’s higher interest requires everyone to be calm, resort to the language of wisdom and deliberation, and choose the path of dialogue and understanding instead of trying to break each-others wills. Everyone must realize that it is nearly impossible to change the consensus system overnight; bypassing the customs of the past two decades takes time. An escalation will likely result in the devastation of the Shiite and the Kurdish houses and Iraq will not be spared.
Farhad Alaaldin is the chairman of the Iraqi Advisory Council. He was the political adviser to former Iraqi President Fuad Masum, the former chief of staff to the KRG prime minister from 2009 to 2011, and the former senior adviser to the KRG prime minister from 2011 to 2012.
{Economic: Al Furat News} Al-Rasheed Bank decided to extend the period of selling bonds {building for citizens}.
And a statement by the bank, which the agency {Euphrates News} received a copy of, stated that “the decision came in conjunction with the continued purchase of citizens.”
He explained that “the extension period is for two weeks, from 19/1 to 2/1/2022.”
And Al-Rasheed said that “these bonds are an opportunity for the citizen to invest his money by buying the number he wants in return for the interests he gets from the bank.”
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