Iraq’s ruling coalition may call for early elections

[RJG]

Iraq’s ruling coalition may call for early elections

A poll by the nongovernmental Iraq Statistics Organization found Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani to have an approval rate of 51%, the highest of any Iraqi official. 

By HUDHAIFA EBRAHIM/THE MEDIA LINE MARCH 10, 2024 14:20   US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Al Sudani in Munich, Germany, on February 18 2023. (photo credit: PUBLIC DOMAIN)

Iraq’s ruling coalition plans to call for early elections in an attempt to overthrow Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani.

 

Al Sudani belongs to the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Shiite parties loyal to Iran. But after assuming the premiership, Al Sudani changed his approach toward the parties and came to disagree with many of their political positions. 

 

A leader in the Islamic Dawa Party, which Al Sudani led until stepping down in 2019, told The Media Line that Coordination Framework parties have been meeting for about five months and plan to call for elections in 2024 or early 2025. 

 

“The plan is to attack the prime minister, belittle his achievements, bring him down popularly, and create more political and economic problems, after which the Iraqi street will go out in demonstrations demanding the overthrow of the government, and then call for early elections, and not nominate Al Sudani again, or grant him any position,” the source, who asked to remain anonymous, said. 

 

The source noted that two previous Iraqi prime ministers had lost their positions after the Iraqi public turned against them. 

  Syria's President Bashar al-Assad greets Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in Damascus, Syria July 16, 2023. (credit: SANA/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

Party fears creation of new political party

“The party fears that Al Sudani may announce the formation of a new political party or alliance, run in the upcoming elections, and become the ruling political majority in Iraq,” the source added.

 

The dispute between the Coordination Framework and Al Sudani relates to the prime minister’s approval of US Federal Reserve policies to prevent currency smuggling. These measures reduced the circulation of US dollars in Iraq and increased the price of the dollar. 

 

 

Al Sudani also implemented several policies that have boosted his popularity. He increased government salaries and wages for retirees, launched major development projects in the capital and several Iraqi governorates, and announced plans to improve infrastructure and expand the nation’s road network.

 

According to official statistics, Al Sudani also significantly reduced unemployment. In addition, he passed a social security law for workers in the private sector and announced a plan to build 1,000 schools and more than a million residential units.

 

Since mid-2023, at least 10 countries, including some in the Gulf Cooperation Council, have announced new investments in Iraq. The exchange rate of the dollar in the parallel market has also stabilized since November 2023.

 

A September 2023 opinion poll by the Government Advisory Board found that Al Sudani enjoys a 78% approval rate. Another poll by the nongovernmental Iraq Statistics Organization found him to have an approval rate of 51%, the highest of any Iraqi official. 

 

Al Sudani has spurned many political allies and opponents. He did not support former Speaker of Parliament Mohamed al-Halbousi and worked for his removal. He also removed most of the leaders of the Popular Mobilization Forces—a group of Iranian-backed militias—from government positions.

 

The Iraqi government is currently weighing the question of changing the currency so that the official cost of a US dollar will be 1.32 Iraqi dinars instead of 1,320 dinars. Implementing such a decision is likely to significantly increase Al Sudani’s popularity. 

 

Abbas al-Musawi, adviser to the former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said in statements to Iraqi media that Al Sudani’s achievements are achievements “for everyone,” while also saying that Al Sudani will not be reelected as prime minister.

 

“We are not afraid of Al Sudani. We have our audience, and it is a stable audience,” al-Musawi said. 

 

Al Sudani has faced heavy criticism on Iraqi television

Jaafar Al-Khudairi, a member of the National Wisdom Movement, one of the Shiite parties within the ruling Coordination Framework, told The Media Line, “The Dawa Party is trying to state that only its cadres are capable of running the state, but this is not true.”

 

He said that the parliament is discussing a new law regarding elections and that new elections might be called after that law’s passage. 

 

Karar Sahib, director of the Iraqi Media Observatory, told The Media Line that Al Sudani has faced constant criticism on Iraqi television. 

 

“There are channels affiliated with the Shiite religious parties, which were the most offensive, as they only showed the negative aspects of the decisions, and tried to exaggerate them,” he said. 

 

He said that consistencies across different channels suggest that there may be a single writer behind the criticism. 

 

Sahib defended Al Sudani’s achievements. “Iraq is now making an unprecedented renaissance,” he said. “It is true that the situation is still below ambition, but it is much better than before.”

 

Muhammad Al-Bouflah, a former professor of political science at the University of Baghdad, told The Media Line that the current political climate is a result of Al Sudani’s attempt to fracture the coalition.

 

He also said that the Coordination Framework will succeed in holding early elections only if Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr comes out in favor of the plan. 

 

“I do not think that Muqtada al-Sadr will return to trusting the Coordination Framework after they removed him from the political process, and therefore the prime minister will continue to complete his term as president,” he said. 

 

Former Member of Parliament Shaiban Al-Kilani told The Media Line that the disputes have to do with the different parties’ attempts to vie for power. 

 

“The disputes are only over shares of the cake,” he said, “and are not disputes over the popularity of the current prime minister.”

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-791161

Edited March 12 by RJG

[RJG]

3 minutes ago, RJG said:

The Iraqi government is currently weighing the question of changing the currency so that the official cost of a US dollar will be 1.32 Iraqi dinars instead of 1,320 dinars. Implementing such a decision is likely to significantly increase Al Sudani’s popularity. 

👀👀

[davis411]

25 minutes ago, RJG said:

to significantly increase Al Sudani’s popularity. 

Ohhhh

1.32

He would be popular with me

on my Xmas  card list for sure 

[Dretown39]

27 minutes ago, RJG said:

👀👀

1/1.32= $.75 cents. Not a bad start. I feel it will be higher though!

[rvmydinar]

37 minutes ago, RJG said:

The Iraqi government is currently weighing the question of changing the currency so that the official cost of a US dollar will be 1.32 Iraqi dinars instead of 1,320 dinars.

1,320 delete 3 zeros equal to 1.32? Just wonder, is it going to be a straight RV or RD?? Just wait and see what the next article is going to say. Hopefully, no more talk talk talk and more actions.

[rvmydinar]

10 minutes ago, Dretown39 said:

1/1.32= $.75 cents. Not a bad start. I feel it will be higher though!

I just hate it when they just keep talking and talking without action Soon.

[rvmydinar]

Just wonder, why are they telling us this rate 1.32 openly to the public? Isn't this supposed to be a secret if they have a plan to RV the IQD? Doesn't everyone think that the big whales will buy up more dinars??

[cranman]

Very unusual for sure.  

 

Well, the elections are supposed to happen in 2024 or 2025. 

So we have a time frame. Kind of.

 

Lol

[Longtimelurker]

50 minutes ago, cranman said:

Very unusual for sure.  

 

Well, the elections are supposed to happen in 2024 or 2025. 

So we have a time frame. Kind of.

 

Lol

He better do it before the election 💥

[Dinarrock]

2 hours ago, RJG said:

👀👀

You are crushing the articles today RJG!! This is great news however the Iraqi government doesn’t make that decision the CBI does but who knows anymore. All I know I would take .75 and they could many many millions of dinar in exchange!!

[jg1]

1 hour ago, rvmydinar said:

Just wonder, why are they telling us this rate 1.32 openly to the public? Isn't this supposed to be a secret if they have a plan to RV the IQD? Doesn't everyone think that the big whales will buy up more dinars??

The only reason why I think they would actually say it out loud is that they have no intention of doing it. Bait and switch.

[3n1]

Just now, jg1 said:

The only reason why I think they would actually say it out loud is that they have no intention of doing it. Bait and switch.

 

 playing devils advocate , they will have it configured so no one speculates against it .. letsroll 1.32

[3n1]

28 minutes ago, Dinarrock said:

You are crushing the articles today RJG!! This is great news however the Iraqi government doesn’t make that decision the CBI does but who knows anymore. All I know I would take .75 and they could many many millions of dinar in exchange!!

 

true , cbi sets the policy,not long ago last year sometime i remember Parliament was involved in voting and allowing currency policies changes which seemed odd to me , wheres YOTA , could probably post the article fast .. we wait  

[edbeach]

 If they are really saying this  I believe they want the Iraqi people to buy more dinar and sell off all their US  dollars; This would be a great way to reduce the dollars in Iraq and increase the dinar. Same time having no intentions of RVing the dinar for a long time giving another excuse why they not to RV/RI the dinar for a long time.  MHO 

[rvmydinar]

5 hours ago, jg1 said:

they have no intention of doing it. 

This is what we all hate it. It is a typical iraqi , isn't it.

[currenzcraze]

Let’s talk about how Blinken is interfering once again.  It sounds like the U.S. is trying to thwart progress .  Maybe I read the article wrong.

[RJG]

Coordination Framework seeks early election to curb al-Sudani's growing popularity: analysis

ReportBreakingCoordination FrameworkAl-Sudani

2024-03-11 10:52

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Shafaq News/ Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is strikingly popular among the Iraqi people, but the parties who once supported him are organizing to take him down, a report by Medialine suggested.

"Iraq's ruling coalition plans to call for early elections in an attempt to overthrow Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani," it said.

Al-Sudani belongs to the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Shiite parties loyal to Iran. But after assuming the premiership, "al-Sudani changed his approach toward the parties and came to disagree with many of their political positions."

A leader in the Islamic Dawa Party, which al-Sudani led until stepping down in 2019, told The Media Line that Coordination Framework parties have been meeting for about five months and plan to call for elections in 2024 or early 2025.

"The plan is to attack the prime minister, belittle his achievements, bring him down popularly, and create more political and economic problems, after which the Iraqi street will go out in demonstrations demanding the overthrow of the government, and then call for early elections, and not nominate al-Sudani again, or grant him any position," the source, who asked to remain anonymous, said.

The source noted that two previous Iraqi prime ministers had lost their positions after the Iraqi public turned against them. "The party fears that Al Sudani may announce the formation of a new political party or alliance, run in the upcoming elections, and become the ruling political majority in Iraq."

The dispute between the Coordination Framework and al-Sudani relates to the prime minister's approval of US Federal Reserve policies to prevent currency smuggling, according to the report. "These measures reduced the circulation of US dollars in Iraq and increased the price of the dollar."

Al-Sudani also implemented several policies that have boosted his popularity. "He increased government salaries and wages for retirees, launched major development projects in the capital and several Iraqi governorates, and announced plans to improve infrastructure and expand the nation’s road network."

According to official statistics, he also significantly reduced unemployment and passed a social security law for workers in the private sector and announced a plan to build 1,000 schools and more than a million residential units.

Since mid-2023, at least 10 countries, including some in the Gulf Cooperation Council, have announced new investments in Iraq. The exchange rate of the dollar in the parallel market has also stabilized since November 2023.

A September 2023 opinion poll by the Government Advisory Board found that al-Sudani enjoys a 78% approval rate. Another poll by the nongovernmental Iraq Statistics Organization found him to have an approval rate of 51%, the highest of any Iraqi official.

The Iraqi government is currently weighing the question of changing the currency so that the official cost of a US dollar will be 1.32 Iraqi dinars instead of 1,320 dinars. Implementing such a decision is likely to significantly increase al-Sudani's popularity.

Abbas al-Musawi, adviser to the former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said in statements to Iraqi media that al-Sudani's achievements are "for everyone", while also saying that al-Sudani will not be reelected as prime minister.

"We are not afraid of al-Sudani. We have our audience, and it is a stable audience," al-Musawi said.

Jaafar al-Khudairi, a member of the National Wisdom Movement, one of the Shiite parties within the ruling Coordination Framework, told The Media Line, "The Dawa Party is trying to state that only its cadres are capable of running the state, but this is not true."

He said that the parliament is discussing a new law regarding elections and that new elections might be called after that law's passage.

Karar Sahib, director of the Iraqi Media Observatory, told The Media Line that al-Sudani has faced constant criticism on Iraqi television.

"There are channels affiliated with the Shiite religious parties, which were the most offensive, as they only showed the negative aspects of the decisions, and tried to exaggerate them," he said.

He said that consistencies across different channels suggest that there may be a single writer behind the criticism.

Sahib defended al-Sudani's achievements. "Iraq is now making an unprecedented renaissance," he said. "It is true that the situation is still below ambition, but it is much better than before."

Muhammad al-Bouflah, a former professor of political science at the University of Baghdad, told The Media Line that the current political climate is a result of the premier's attempt to fracture the coalition. He also said that the Coordination Framework will succeed in holding early elections only if Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr comes out in favor of the plan.

"I do not think that Muqtada al-Sadr will return to trusting the Coordination Framework after they removed him from the political process, and therefore the prime minister will continue to complete his term as president," he said.

Former Member of Parliament Shaiban al-Kilani told The Media Line that the disputes have to do with the different parties' attempts to vie for power.

"The disputes are only over shares of the cake," he said, "and are not disputes over the popularity of the current prime minister."

https://shafaq.com/en/Report/Coordination-Framework-seeks-early-election-to-curb-al-Sudani-s-growing-popularity-analysis

[horsesoldier]

There are many (Iranian stooges) that want to flush the reforms right down the toilet.

[rvmydinar]

4 hours ago, RJG said:

The Iraqi government is currently weighing the question of changing the currency so that the official cost of a US dollar will be 1.32 Iraqi dinars instead of 1,320 dinars. 

When when when?? =in the coming days?? Oh no no no not a flying pig 

[horsesoldier]

19 minutes ago, rvmydinar said:

When when when?? =in the coming days?? Oh no no no not a flying pig 

I saw a flying pig at my uncle's farm once. I was 12 and had downed some of his moonshine. Never touched the stuff since.

[Longtimelurker]

Seems like the deepstate is trying to remove Sudani. Sounds similar to the deepstate trying to keep Trump out..

[Laid Back]

Remember what PM Al-Sudani said.

 

” Keep your Dinar because your dinar is stronger “

 

“Iraqi dinar will return to its lofty economic value”

 

$1/1320 = 0.00075

 

Delete the 000 = $0.75

 

 $750,000 per million IQD

 

Go delete of 000

Go stronger dinar

Go purchasing power 

 

 

 

 

[rvmydinar]

1 hour ago, horsesoldier said:

I saw a flying pig at my uncle's farm once. I was 12 and had downed some of his moonshine. Never touched the stuff since.

Yikes....what is that stuff??

[bkeiller]

This has been like the longest dating game ever and we ain't getting the digits we want.

 

The teasing continues.

 

Soon!

😆 

 

Time for that moonshine!

[Half Crazy Runner]

1 hour ago, Laid Back said:

Delete the 000 = $0.75

I will take that rate in a heartbeat and never look back!!!