Iraq: Al Sudani vows to fight corruption, exclusion and marginalization
Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani expressed his readiness to cooperate with all political forces and components of society, vowing to fight corruption, exclusion and marginalization in his first statement after being given the new mission.
On Thursday, the Iraqi parliament elected Kurdish politician Abdel Latif Rashid as president. Rashid immediately announced that Al Sudani would be prime minister, ending a year-long stalemate following the elections held in October last year.
This is what Al Sudani highlighted in his statement:
- We declare our full readiness to cooperate with all political forces and components of society, whether represented in the House of Representatives or in the national sphere.
- “We will not allow exclusion and marginalization in our policies, as differences have cracked state institutions and wasted many opportunities for Iraqis in development, construction, and reconstruction.”
- I declare a serious desire to open the door to genuine and meaningful dialog to start a new page in working to serve our people and alleviate their suffering, by strengthening national unity, renouncing division and eliminating hate speech.
- “I will do my best to form a strong government that is determined to implement its goals and program, through the collaboration of political forces, by nominating competent, professional and impartial figures capable of fulfilling their responsibilities.”
- We will work with dedication and sincerity to address the accumulated problems and crises, foremost among them the lack of services, poverty, inflation and unemployment. We will also work to provide employment and housing opportunities, improve the health, education, youth and sports sectors, and empower women and guarantee their rights.
- Our work will start from the first hours of the mandate according to a realistic government program that adopts economic reforms aimed at revitalizing the industrial and agricultural sectors, supporting the private sector, diversifying sources of income, addressing the environmental effects of desertification, climate change and protecting water resources.
- I pledge to you that the Service Government is determined to close the outlets for corruption through strict laws and legislation, in cooperation with the legislative authorities.
- We will seek to hold local and parliamentary elections in a free and fair atmosphere and in a transparent electoral system that reassure all contenders.
Al Sudani is the candidate of the largest parliamentary bloc known as the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Iran-allied factions, and was tasked by the new Iraqi president to form a government.
Al Sudani, 52, previously served as Iraq’s Minister of Human Rights and Minister of Labor and Social Affairs.
Al Sudani now has 30 days to form a government and submit it to parliament for approval.
Thursday’s parliamentary session comes a year after the cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s bloc won the largest number of parliamentary seats, but failed to rally support for a government.
Al-Sadr withdrew his 73 MPs in August and said he would quit politics, leading to the worst wave of violence in Baghdad in years, when supporters stormed a government headquarters and clashed with rival, mostly Iranian-backed groups with armed wings.
