Iraq’s President Signals New Elections as Premier Agrees to Quit

(Bloomberg) -- Iraq’s president said Thursday that Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi had agreed to resign once a successor is found and vowed to move toward new elections after days of violent protests between anti-government demonstrators and security forces left at least 200 people dead.

In a televised speech, President Barham Salih said he would present a draft electoral law next week for an early parliamentary ballot, and vowed to crack down on corruption, one of the key demands of protesters.

Salih said the premier had requested political blocs to agree on a replacement before stepping aside, signaling a possibly prolonged period of horse-trading between antagonistic parties across a sectarian divide.

The protests in Iraq, along with sustained rallies that removed the prime minister of Lebanon, pose a particular challenge to Iran, which will want to protect the significant political power it wields in both countries.

The unrest was the biggest test of Abdul-Mahdi’s short premiership, with 250 people killed, according to a count by the Associated Press, and thousands wounded in clashes in Baghdad and other cities after taking to the streets angered over unemployment, government corruption and a lack of basic services.

While similar grievances have repeatedly lead to bouts of unrest, particularly in the south, the latest flare-up was deadlier and more widespread. The government responded by firing tear gas and live ammunition, blocking the internet, imposing a curfew and closing the Iranian border shortly before a major pilgrimage to the Shiite Muslim shrines at Najaf and Karbala.

What Lies Behind the Iraq Protests in Seven Charts

Abdul-Mahdi, a former finance minister, was picked by rival Shiite Muslim groups as a consensus candidate following parliamentary elections in 2018, but has struggled to form a strong government and start the nation’s recovery from a devastating war with Islamic State jihadists.

He vowed earlier this week to create jobs for university graduates and said all contracts with foreign companies would stipulate that 50% of jobs should go to Iraqis. The pledges were not enough to calm protesters, and he was criticized by Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s most influential Shiite cleric, for failing to answer the people’s needs.

To contact the reporter on this story: Abeer Abu Omar in Dubai at aabuomar@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Mark Williams, Amy Teibel

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