Brett McGurk
Brett McGurk, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for the fight against Daesh, met with Iraqi leaders on Tuesday with a view to expediting the formation of Iraq’s next government.
The talks come one week before parliament holds its first session on Sept. 3, during which a new assembly speaker -- along with two deputies -- will be chosen.
According to an Iraqi Foreign Ministry source, McGurk's visit is aimed at convincing Iraqi political parties and groups to “expedite the process of drawing up a new government”.
Dozens of local residents on Tuesday staged an open-ended sit-in in Iraq’s southern city of Basra to protest what they describe as the government’s failure to deal with worsening water and environmental pollution.At the sit-in, which was held in Basra’s Al-Tiran Square, protester Rafed al-Kenani told Anadolu Agency that the sit-in was organized after numerous local residents suffered temporary poisoning after drinking tainted tap water.Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources recently reported that the percentage of dissolved salts had recently reached 7,500 tds (total dissolved solids) in the Shatt al-Arab waterway, Basra’s main source of drinking water.Suicide attack kills six tribal fighters north of BaghdadAccording to the World Health Organization, drinking water should not exceed 1,200 tds.Last Thursday, Iraq’s state-run human rights commission acknowledged that thousands of Basra residents had suffered temporary poisoning after drinking tainted water.Since early July, Iraq’s Shia-majority southern and central provinces have been rocked by popular protests, which at one point spread to capital Baghdad.Protesters in Iraq's Basra decry murder of demonstratorDemonstrators demand improved public utilities, including water and electricity, more employment opportunities, and an end to alleged government corruption.Meanwhile, negotiations over the outlines of Iraq’s next government remain underway between the country’s leading political parties and blocs following hotly-disputed parliamentary polls held in May.
Iraqis in Basra stage sit-in to protest water pollution
The source, who spoke anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to media, could not say how long McGurk planned to stay in Iraq.
Earlier Tuesday, McGurk met with Iraqi Vice-President Osama al-Nujaifi, a possible candidate for the post of parliamentary speaker.
In a subsequent statement, al-Nujaifi’s office said that the meeting -- which was also attended by U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Douglas Silliman -- had tackled “the latest political developments and ongoing talks aimed at forging a majority bloc in parliament”.
Iraq's new parliament will convene on Sept. 3, according to a decree issued on Monday by President Fuad Masum, preparing the way for lawmakers to elect a new government to start rebuilding the country after a three-year war with Islamic State.Iraqis voted in May in their first parliamentary election since the defeat of Islamic State's self-declared caliphate, but a contentious recount process delayed the announcement of final results until earlier this month.Uncertainty over the make-up of the new government has raised tensions at a time when public impatience is growing over poor basic services, high unemployment and the slow pace of rebuilding after the war with Islamic State."The president has held several substantive talks with all political groups, urging them to finalise their political agreements in order to meet constitutional provisions," Masum's office said in a statement.The Federal Supreme Court ratified the election results on Aug. 19 and Masum had 15 days to call the new parliament into session, the first step in a 90-day process outlined in the constitution that will eventually lead to a new government.Lawmakers will elect a parliamentary speaker and two deputies in their first session. They will later elect a new president and task the leader of the largest bloc to form a government as prime minister.The recount delayed the process by three months yet showed little had changed from the initial results, with populist Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr retaining his lead.
Iraqi president convenes new parliament for Sept. 3
According to the statement, al-Nujaifi had also stressed the importance of implementing a viable government program and providing the public with adequate services.
On Monday, government officials announced that Iraq’s recently-elected parliament would convene its first session on Sept. 3.
According to Iraq’s constitution, the assembly will then have 30 days to elect -- by a two-thirds majority -- the country’s next president.
The new president will then task the largest bloc in parliament with drawing up a government, which then must be referred back to parliament for approval.