The biggest winner of the election, the powerful Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, has withdrawn his parliamentarians from the process and instead sent his supporters to occupy the green compound of the legislature. As dawn broke on Friday, Sadr’s supporters gathered in provinces across the country and in front of parliament to reiterate his demands. Twenty years after the US-led invasion, the winners of the kleptocratic political system that ultimately installed it are now bickering over who will reap their loot. Many Iraqis viewed the elections as an exercise in reshuffling political deckchairs, saying none of the major factions represented them. “Today you brought joy to the hearts of Iraqis,” wrote Qais al-Khazali, a Shia cleric allied with Maliki.

Source: CNN August 14, 2022 12:25 UTC