INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Shafaq News/ Iraq's Parliament Speaker Mohammad al-Halboosi on Sunday issued a decree terminating the membership of the resigned Sadrist
lawmakers from the Iraqi parliament.According to official documents, al-Halboosi signed a decree carrying the name of his first deputy Hakem
al-Zameli, along with 70 other members of the Sadrist bloc.Earlier this week, Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr said he has decided to
withdraw from the political process to avoid involvement with “corrupt” politicians
The leader of the Sadrist Movement in the Iraqi parliament insisted he "will not participate in the next elections if the corrupt
participate" during a closed meeting with members of his bloc.He also said that his decision to order his bloc to resign from parliament
will not be retracted, in an announcement that came three days after he ordered 73 politicians from his party to quit the assembly.The
unprecedented mass withdrawal of al-Sadr bloc has dramatically altered the political scene in Iraq, throwing government formation talks into
Al-Sadr emerged as the winner of the October vote, giving him 73 of parliament’s 329 seats
The vote was a blow to his Iran-backed Shiite rivals who lost about two-thirds of their seats and have rejected the results.Since then, the
two sides have been locked in a row for power, even as the country faces growing challenges, including an impending food crisis resulting
from severe drought and the war in Ukraine.Al-Sadr has been intent on forming, along with his allies, a majoritarian government that
excludes some Iran-backed factions.But he has not been able to corral enough legislators to parliament to get the two-thirds majority needed
to elect Iraq's next president – a necessary step ahead of naming the next prime minister and selecting a cabinet.When he ordered his
politicians to resign, he called it a "sacrifice" he was making for the good of the country.His cousin and nominee for prime minister,
Jaafar al-Sadr, withdrew his candidacy the next day.
