Hundreds of Iraqi demonstrators, most of them followers of the Iraqi Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr, have stormed the parliament building in Baghdad to protest against the nomination for prime minister by Iran-backed parties.
No lawmakers were present in parliament when the protesters penetrated the capital’s high-security Green Zone, home to government buildings and diplomatic missions. The protesters oppose the candidacy of Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, a former minister and ex-provincial governor, who is the pro-Iran Coordination Framework’s pick for premier.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi called on the protesters to “immediately withdraw” from the Green Zone. Al-Sadr’s bloc won 73 seats in Iraq’s October 2021 election, making it the largest faction in the 329-seat parliament. But since the vote, talks to form a new government have stalled and al-Sadr has stepped down from the political process.
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