Election Victory of Shiite Cleric Could Break Iran’s Grip on Iraqi Politics, Observers Say – By Dale Gavlak (VOA News) / December 29, 2021
AMMAN, JORDAN — With Iraq’s October parliamentary election results now ratified, political parties are negotiating the composition of the country’s next government.
Observers say they see alliances between different groups changing, not based on ideology but on narrow political interests. The central focus now is on who will become Iraq’s next prime minister as the country struggles over its future direction.
The election victory by nationalist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has the potential to break Iran’s grip on Iraqi politics, observers say.
Osama Al Sharif, an Amman-based Middle East political commentator, says al-Sadr is one of Iraq’s few political figures calling for the dissolution of armed pro-Iranian militias.
