Iraqi PM urges rival parties to solve deadlock via dialogue

Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Tuesday invited rival political parties to a meeting to seek a solution to the political deadlock through a national dialogue. 

"I invite the leaders of the national political forces to a national meeting at the government palace on Wednesday to launch a national dialogue for a solution to the current political crisis," Al-Kadhimi said in a statement. 

Iraq is "experiencing political challenges and a political deadlock, along with their repercussions on the government's performance," ­Al-Kadhimi told the weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday, according to a separate statement by his media office. 

Earlier, Al-Kadhimi accepted the resignation of Finance Minister Ali Allawi who cited "the rampant conflict between the political parties that affected the implementation of reforms" as the reason for resigning, said the government spokesperson Hassan Nadhim. 

Al-Kadhimi's invitation came as the political disputes escalated in the past weeks between the prominent Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his rivals the Coordination Framework (CF), an umbrella group of Shiite parliamentary parties. 

On August 3, Al-Sadr urged his followers to continue their sit-in protest until their demands to dissolve the parliament and hold early elections are met. 

The CF became the largest alliance in the Iraqi parliament after Al-Sadr ordered his followers in the Sadrist Movement, the biggest winner of the elections held on October 10, 2021, to withdraw from the parliament.