US, UN voice concern over Iraq political ‘chaos’

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD

Officials from both the UN and the U.S. have voiced concern about Iraq’s increasingly chaotic political situation, especially given the stark divisions now plaguing the country’s parliament.

"The political crisis threatens to paralyze state institutions and erode national unity at a time when all efforts should be focused on fighting the Daesh terrorist group, implementing reforms, and reviving the economy," Giorgi Posten, acting chief-of-mission for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), said Friday.

"Only Daesh stands to benefit from this chaos and erosion of state institutions," Posten said. "We can’t let this happen."

He added: "Iraq’s elected MPs and political leaders must hold constructive dialogue with a view to resolving their differences based on the principles of democracy and political legitimacy."

On Saturday, Brett McGurk, U.S. President Barack Obama’s special envoy for an international anti-Daesh coalition, voiced similar concern regarding Iraq’s current political difficulties, according to a statement issued by the Iraqi presidency.

"Iraqi President Fuad Masum met McGurk in Baghdad, along with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones," the statement read, adding that both men had "expressed concern about the country’s current political scene."

In a televised Friday address to the nation, Masum said that parliament’s role was to "protect the national consensus on constitutional grounds and within a democratic context."

He urged lawmakers to "respect the rules laid down in the constitution", going on to warn that, otherwise, the country was likely to enter "a dark political tunnel".

"I’m calling for the implementation of genuine political reforms and an end to the notion of sectarian quotas in state institutions," he declared.

"MPs and the country’s political forces must engage in constructive dialogue [to end their differences] and put the country’s interests first," he said.

The Iraqi president added: "The prestige of the Iraqi state must be preserved."

MPs’ sit-in

Since Tuesday, dozens of Iraqi MPs have been holding a sit-in inside parliament headquarters in Baghdad to demand the resignation of assembly speaker Salim al-Jubouri.

They began the sit-in following the postponement of a scheduled parliamentary vote on a new cabinet lineup proposed by Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi.

On Tuesday, al-Abadi submitted his proposed ministerial lineup, which included figures from various political blocs -- despite calls by the powerful Sadrist movement and other Iraqi political groups to form a government of "technocrats" untainted by sectarian affiliations.

Ali Abo Rezeg contributed to this report