Development leader in Iraq: Will Moustafa al-Kazimi win a second term?
As Iraq prepares for a new presidential election, the chances of the current prime minister, Moustafa al-Kazimi, winning a second term are high, especially during the current alignments, since he has a clear affinity with the Sadrist movement, which is allied with Progress, and the Kurdistan Democratic Party.
Al-Kazimi’s chance
Al-Kazimi has a strong presence in Iraqi society, especially after he has made clear achievements in the country, penetrated the political process, and demonstrated the ability to manage things in light of the fierce unrest.
Al-Kazimi is politically independent and does not belong to any political party; he assumed the position of intelligence chief in June 2016, during Haider al-Abadi’s regime and then the prime minister’s tenure, before taking over the government in May 2020. After taking over the government, al-Kazimi asserted that he did not come to be a political project owner, nor did he want to be a political project owner.
Second term
Al-Kazimi is likely to win the second term, especially given the fact that he is the most consensual choice among the blocs, due to the sharp disagreements between the parties, which will refuse to field a party candidate, forcing them to present a consensus candidate, acceptable to everyone in light of the current political complexities, which is al-Kazimi.
The current rapprochement between al-Sadr and al-Kazimi, a glimmer of hope in the Iraqi political scene, supports the formation of a strong government without foreign interference, especially after the last parliamentary elections, in October 2021, resulted in the victory of the Sadrist movement led by Moqtada al-Sadr, winning 73 seats, a number greater than any other faction in the 329-seat Council.
Al-Kazimi’s Efforts
In April 2012, he visited Saudi Arabia and met with Crown Prince Mohammed ben Salmane. During the visit, a number of economic agreements were signed between the Saudi and Iraqi governments, which was considered a qualitative leap in a period of high regional tension.
Al-Kazimi was able to bring Iraq back into the Arab fold and remove it from the tensions in the region, and Baghdad declares that it totally rejects being an Iranian platform to target neighboring Arab countries and countries.
Through massive efforts to combat terrorism and cleanse Iraq of the remnants of ISIS, al-Kazimi was able to reach the European Union’s decision to remove Iraq from the list of high-risk countries for money laundering and terrorist financing. The prime minister considered this an important step in devoting effective Iraqi diplomacy to serving the interests of the country, saying government and diplomatic efforts are ongoing at various levels to put Iraq in the position it deserves.
He was able to fulfill his promises to many of the protesters’ demands and carried out a number of government achievements, foremost among them connecting the electricity network with the international network starting next year. Efforts were made to resolve the electricity crisis that has been going on for years whether with the Arab Gulf states, Jordan, Egypt or Turkey, in addition to linking with neighboring Iran.
He also gave the go-ahead to a number of economic projects, especially in the field of solar energy and the production of energy from gas-powered stations, in addition to projects related to education, transportation and railways. He also introduced important reforms through the White Paper, which contained solid and objective ideas.
Last month, Iraqi Prime Minister Moustafa al-Kazimi announced that the government is developing Iraq’s International Fair to build a large international exhibition center in Baghdad.
