Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi
Reuters
A hundred members of Iraq's parliament held a sit-in on Wednesday, demanding that the volatile country's president, prime minister and parliamentary speaker all be removed.
The parliamentary sit-in comes after a vote on a cabinet reshuffle the day before on Tuesday turned chaotic, amid outrage over how Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's promises to reform the government appear unlikely to happen, reports The New Arab.
Abadi had promised to form a technocratic government based on qualified candidates, and not one controlled by political blocs in a sectarian quota system according to which ministerial posts and seats are allocated along Shia, Sunni and Kurdish sectarian lines.
But on Monday the prime minister signed a pledge with the heads of leading political parties, promising to consult them in forming a new government in what critics called a declaration to keep the status quo.
In the shadow of popular protests on the street, opposing MPs on Tuesday charged that the new lineup of ministers presented by Abadi was merely a continuation of the sectarian quota system which has led to rampant corruption.
The MPs called for an emergency meeting on Wednesday to explore ways of removing Abadi, the president and parliamentary speaker, and on Wednesday staged their sit-in to demand a change in the government.
The parliamentary sit-in comes after a vote on a cabinet reshuffle the day before on Tuesday turned chaotic, amid outrage over how Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's promises to reform the government appear unlikely to happen, reports The New Arab.
Abadi had promised to form a technocratic government based on qualified candidates, and not one controlled by political blocs in a sectarian quota system according to which ministerial posts and seats are allocated along Shia, Sunni and Kurdish sectarian lines.
But on Monday the prime minister signed a pledge with the heads of leading political parties, promising to consult them in forming a new government in what critics called a declaration to keep the status quo.
In the shadow of popular protests on the street, opposing MPs on Tuesday charged that the new lineup of ministers presented by Abadi was merely a continuation of the sectarian quota system which has led to rampant corruption.
The MPs called for an emergency meeting on Wednesday to explore ways of removing Abadi, the president and parliamentary speaker, and on Wednesday staged their sit-in to demand a change in the government.
