Iraq's Sadrist movement refuses to join new government, says it won't meet people's aspirations

Lawmakers on Thursday (October 13) elected Kurdish politician Abdul Latif Rashid as Iraq's new president, who then named Mohammad Shia al-Sudani as prime minister-designate.

Now two days after that, Moqtada Sadr's movement on Saturday announced that it won't join a new government that is being formed by Sudani, the news agency AFP reported.

Mohammed Saleh al-Iraqi, a close associate of Sadr, said in a statement posted on Twitter: "We stress our firm and clear refusal for any of our affiliates to participate... in this government formation."

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The 52-year-old Shiite former minister Sudani is supported by the Coordination Framework, which holds 138 of the 329 members in the Iraqi legislature.

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The upcoming government has a "clear subordination to militias" and would "not meet the people's aspirations", Iraqi said in his statement on Saturday.

Sadr had ordered the 73 lawmakers in his bloc to resign, leaving parliament in the hands of the Framework.

"Anyone who joins their ministries does not represent us... rather, we disavow them," Iraqi said.

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What do we know about Iraq's presidency?

In Iraq, the presidency is traditionally occupied by a Kurd. It is a largely ceremonial position but the vote for Rashid was a key step toward forming a new government.

The 78-year-old was the Iraqi minister of water resources from 2003-2010. The British-educated engineer won against former President Barham Salih, who was running for a second term.

He invited Sudani, who previously served as Iraq’s human rights minister as well as minister of labour and social affairs, to form a government.

Sudani now has 30 days to form a cabinet and present it to parliament for approval.

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