ABADI HITS RESET
Corruption, Sectarianism, Unqualified officials these are all factors that have made Iraq crumble before the eyes of the entire world. Iraq is divided between three main groups - Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. The current government consists of three vice presidents and three deputy prime ministers. But Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi will soon abolish these positions. The new reforms aim to fight corruption within the Iraqi government. Sectarian and party quotas would no longer allow unqualified people to take up government positions.
HISTORY OF DIVISION
Iraq has long been marred by sectarian strife. Sunni Iraqis supported the rise of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime in 1979. The US backed Hussein at the time to counter the Shiite Islamic revolution in Iran. It later ousted Hussein in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and switched its support to the Shiites. But in the decade that followed, the sectarian policies of former Shiite prime minister Nouri al-Maliki left the Sunni population sidelined. As a result, many former Baathists aligned themselves with ISIS. Last year, the US pressured Maliki to resign after ISIS took control of Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul. But the resignation was too little and too late to reduce sectarian tension.
ANTI-CORRUPTION PROTESTS
The sectarian basis of politics in Iraq has also allowed corrupt individuals to enter the government. Thousands of people marched against corruption and poor services in Baghdad and southern Iraq last week. Iraq’s top Shiite Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani also called on the government to do more to tackle the problems. Both the Council of Ministers and the parliament have approved the proposals. Under the new reforms, current vice presidents Nouri al-Maliki, Osama al-Nujaifi and Iyad Allawi will all see their positions axed. The positions of deputy prime ministers Baha Araji, Saleh al-Mutlaq and Roj Nuri Shaways will also be abolished.
WHAT NEXT FOR IRAQ?
Maliki, Nujaifi and Allawi have all backed the reforms. Deputy Prime Minister Baha Araji announced his resignation shortly after Abadi made a statement. Araji already faces an anti-corruption investigation against him, but he says he will fight the case. The reforms include plans to reduce the number of bodyguards for government officials. And surplus funds are to be redirected to the interior and defence ministries. From now on, government appointments are set to be based on credential, and not sectarian affiliation. But the removal of sectarian quotas could also result in Shiite domination of the government. Sunnis could be left even more isolated. And this may deepen the sectarian divide the reforms seek to combat.
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