Baghdad
An Iranian-backed bloc in Iraq’s parliament proposed Wednesday the governor of oil-rich southern Basra province as the country’s next prime minister but the nomination was promptly rejected by Iraqi protesters who want an independent candidate to take over the government, two officials said.
The Fatah bloc, which includes leaders associated with the paramilitary Popular Mobilization Units, supported by Iran, had proposed Gov. Asaad Al-Eidani for premier.
According to the two officials, President Barham Saleh received a memorandum from parliament which stated that the Iran-backed bloc is allegedly the largest in the house and as such has the right to nominate the next premier. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under regulations.
Earlier on Wednesday, outgoing higher education minister, Qusay Al-Suhail, who had also been rejected by protesters on the streets, withdrew his nomination for prime minister.
Pressure from the demonstrations led Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi to announce his resignation late last month. That was after Iraq’s most powerful religious authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, withdrew support for Abdul-Mahdi’s government.
A deadline to name a new prime minister has been missed twice over disagreements on which is the largest bloc in the parliament following last year’s elections.
There are currently two main blocs — Sairoon, led by populist Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr, and Fatah, headed by Hadi Al-Amiri. But the numbers in the blocs have continued to change since last year’s elections, with an unknown number of lawmakers leaving some blocs and joining others.
Meanwhile, Iraqi protesters have launched a new weapon aimed at weakening Iran’s grip on their political system — a boycott of Iranian products in stores and markets.
With the slogan “Let them rot,” young Iraqis in particular are refusing to buy anything imported from Iran, from fruit and vegetables to cheese and yogurt.
Instead, pop-up markets at protest camps are offering food stamped with “Made in Iraq” labels. “It allows us to create jobs for Iraqis and means our money stays in the country,” said protester Hatem Karim, 24. “We must … support our own national production.”
Iran exports $9 billion worth of products to Iraq every year, 10 times the amount of trade in the opposite direction. A successful boycott would be a significant blow to the Iranian economy, already crippled by US sanctions.— AP/AFP
