Iraq – High court could dissolve parliament on Wednesday

Location: Baghdad-Iraq

Language: Arabic

Duration: 00:04:09

Sound: natural

Source: A24 in Baghdad

Restrictions: A24 subscribers

Date: 03/09/ 2022

Storyline:

Iraq’s political future could likely be decided on Wednesday when the country’s supreme  court is scheduled to take up a motion to dissolve the session of  Baghdad’s deadlocked parliament.

Analyst Rafid Al-Tai told A24 that the court must dissolve parliament if  new elections are the only path toward diffusing the crisis.

The court was slated  to make a ruling on the case last Thursday but its session was postponed  after security officials imposed  a curfew.

Clashes between al-Sadr supporters and backers of the Iran-backed Coordination Framework led to the worst spate of violence seen on the streets of Baghdad in years.

Other observers believe that the court should not bow to Sadarist pressure by disbanding the legislature.

In an interview with A24 attorney Hussein Abboud said judges should back the legitimacy of the current parliament and force all factions to work with legistlaors elected in last OCtober’s vote.

Shotlist:

– Soundbite (Rafid Al-Tai – Political researcher):

“There should be a solution to end the crisis in Iraq and prevent further bloodshed. If the main demand is dissolution of Parliament, then dissolving Parliament is the only solution.”

– Soundbite (Rahim Al-Shammari – Political analyst):

“The Federal Supreme Court is biding its time to decide on the case of Parliament dissolution in consideration of what is in the country’s best interest. The Federal Supreme Court is the reference for interpreting legislation for political disputes and every bloc wants the decision issued to be in its favor. The court is out of its depth and has postponed the decision twice in order to allow for time to bring political blocs closer.”

– Soundbite (Hussein Abboud – Lawyer):

“The Federal Supreme Court possesses absolute authority to issue any decision it believes achieves what is in the country’s best interest. The court’s decisions are considered laws that everyone has to abide by, which means we should resort to the court to overcome the current crisis.”