Iraq‘s top Shia leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has called for a new election law to restore public confidence in the country’s political system amid weeks-long mass anti-government demonstrations.
In a weekly sermon delivered by a representative in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, al-Sistani said on Friday that a fresh poll would give voters the opportunity to bring “new faces” to power in Iraq.
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“Passing a law that does not give such an opportunity to voters would be unacceptable and useless,” al-Sistani said.
“If those in power think they can evade dealing with real reform by procrastination, they are mistaken,” he added. “What comes after the protests is not the same as before, so be careful.”
More than 300 people have been killed and thousands of others wounded since the protests erupted at the start of October, sparked by widespread anger over official corruption, mass unemployment and failing public services.
The demonstrations have gripped Baghdad and several cities in Iraq’s south, posing the biggest challenge yet to the year-old government of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, who has moved to try and quell the unrest by pledging to reshuffle his cabinet and deliver a package of reforms.
Iraq’s President Barham Salih has meanwhile promised to hold a snap parliamentary election once a new law is passed, but has not outlined any timeline for the vote.
The measures have failed to appease protesters, however, with the ire of those demonstrating focused on Iraq’s entire political establishment.
Many say the country’s authorities have failed to improve the lives of its citizens despite a period of relative calm ushered in following the defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) armed group two years ago.
Al Jazeera’s Natasha Ghoneim, reporting from capital Baghdad, said protesters were “as clear with their demands” as they had been at the beginning of the demonstrations.
“Their demands are that the current government resign and elections be held,” Ghoneim said.
“It is clear the government is attempting to tamp down the protesters’ anger but there remains a very large divide between the protesters and the government,” she added. “So what we have is a political stalemate.”
Global News 
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