Hundreds of supporters of powerful Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr danced and sang in parliament after storming Baghdad’s high-security Green Zone in protest at a rival bloc’s nomination for prime minister.
Police fired barrages of teargas in a bid to stop the protesters from breaching the gates of the heavily fortified Green Zone, but the crowds surged forward and entered parliament.
No lawmakers were present in parliament when the protesters penetrated the capital’s high-security Green Zone, home to government buildings and diplomatic missions, on Wednesday(July 27).
Only security forces were inside the building and they appeared to allow the protesters in with relative ease.
The majority of the protesters were followers of influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The demonstrators, all of them men, were seen walking on tables of the parliament floor, leafing through folders, sitting in the chairs of politicians and waving Iraqi flags.
The incident raised the stakes in the political struggle for Iraq nearly 10 months after federal elections.
The demonstrators were protesting against the recent selection of Mohammed al-Sudani as the official nominee of the Coordination Framework bloc, a coalition led by Iran-backed Shiite parties and their allies.
It was the largest protest since federal elections were held in October, and the second time this month Mr al-Sadr used his ability to mobilise masses to send a message to his political rivals.
Al-Sudani, an ex-government minister, is backed by a rival pro-Iran political alliance.
The protesters raised the Iraqi flag and pictures of al-Sadr, whose bloc secured 73 seats in the 329-strong parliament in legislative election held in October last year.
While the Sadrist bloc increased its seats in the October polls compared to the previous parliament, pro-Iranian groups suffered significant losses.
But, last month, the Sadrist bloc quit parliament amid a political stalemate over forming a new government in the country.
By custom, Iraq’s parliamentary speaker is a Sunni Muslim, the prime minister is a Shiite and the president a Kurd.
Many Iraqis have little faith in political players as oil-rich Iraq has been struggling with economic and political crises for years.
But since the vote, talks to form a new government have stalled and al-Sadr has stepped down from the political process.
