Iraqi president calls for early elections to end current crisis

Iraq’s President Barham Salih said on Tuesday that early elections could resolve political tension and are a way out of the current crisis.

“Holding new, early elections in accordance with a national consensus represents an exit from the stifling crisis,” Saleh said in a televised speech.

“The recent elections have not achieved what Iraqi citizens were hoping for, and have faced a lot of challenges and problems,” he said.

He also called on the leaders of the coordination framework to communicate with the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, to calm souls and come up with a political solution.

“Yesterday’s scenes hurt the souls of all Iraqis, hurt their feelings and made their hearts bleeding, and we have to admit that the political system and constitutional institutions were unable to avoid what happened,” he said.

Salih pointed out “the recent elections did not achieve what the citizen hoped for, and faced many problems and challenges… the delay in meeting the constitutional deadlines and forming a new government, and the issue of the resignation of the Sadrist bloc that won the elections, and its serious political and social effects.

“The position of His Eminence Sayed Muqtada al-Sadr to stop the violence incidents is a responsible, courageous and keen on the homeland, and it is highly appreciated by the Iraqis, and it should be devoted in the interest of getting our country out of the current political crisis through responsible solutions that guarantee people’s aspirations,” he added.

E.M