Iraq’s parliament approved Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi’s anti-corruption plan on Tuesday, abolishing senior government posts and authorizing a graft probe after days of street protests against alleged government waste.
Advertisement
Abadi’s move of reform measures came after massive demonstrations in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and several other cities in the south to protest against slack public services, power shortage, and massive corruption.
As a result of the reforms, senior political appointments will no longer be based on sectarian or party quotas, and the posts of vice-president and deputy PM will be abolished.
The approval is a victory for Abadi, but the question now becomes how thoroughly the measures will be implemented, and what politicians and other officials may do to try to thwart them.
Sadr, whose opinion holds sway over tens of thousands of followers and militia fighters, heads the movement to which Araji belongs.
The plan received support from Iraq’s most influential cleric, Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, and Abadi’s predecessor, Nouri al-Maliki, whose current position as a vice president will be eliminated.
The reforms package also included the formation of an anti-corruption commission.
The proposed plan also calls for a “comprehensive and immediate reduction” in the number of bodyguards of the president, ministers, parliamentary speaker, members of parliament and prime minister.
Parliament also approved on Tuesday its own package of reforms to sack the ministers of finance and electricity, cut the number of ministries, reduce the size of officials’ security details and reform the judicial system. He expressed support for the reform plan.
Amid a major heatwave that has seen temperatures top 50 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit), protesters have railed against the poor quality of services, especially power outages that leave just a few hours of government-supplied electricity per day.
Advertisement
“I announce my total commitment to the directions of the religious Marjaiya (Shiite religious leadership), which has voiced the concerns and aspirations of the Iraqi people”, Abadi said in a statement issued by his office on Friday.
