Al-Nujaifi: The role of forces linked to Iran in the next parliament will not exceed 30%
Former Nineveh Governor and leader of the United Alliance, Atheel al-Nujaifi, predicted on Monday that the role of Iranian-backed political forces would decline in the upcoming parliamentary session. He indicated that these forces would only obtain 30% of the seats, due to regional and domestic changes.
Al-Nujaifi said in a Facebook post, “There are four factors that clearly indicate that the next parliament will be further removed from Iranian influence, and that Tehran’s supporters will not exceed, at best, 30% of parliamentary seats.”
Al-Nujaifi explained that “the first reason is that a large portion of the votes in central and southern Iraq oppose Iranian influence. This was evident in the last elections, when they voted for the Sadrist movement and forces associated with the October protests.”
He continued, “With the Sadrist movement’s withdrawal from the political process, the current composition of parliament has emerged. Consequently, many of those votes will be directed toward other opposition candidates in the upcoming elections.”
He added, “Regional changes have given us a firm conviction that Iranian influence has declined significantly, and that those who still seek refuge in it are facing crises and problems, and have lost influence and gains. The situation is not the same as it was four years ago.”
Al-Nujaifi pointed out that “the performance of the winning political blocs in the current parliament was not satisfactory to their constituencies, which led to a decline in their popularity.” He emphasized that “the division within the pro-Iranian forces and the attempts of some of them to adapt to regional changes and avoid clashing with international will represent an additional factor in the decline of their influence.”
Al-Nujaifi concluded by saying, “I am fully convinced that change in Iraq will be gradual and will occur through the ballot box, with one party’s influence diminishing in favor of another. This does not mean the demise of a particular party, but rather the tipping of the scales in favor of another.”
Shafaq.com