Iran Press/ Middle East: Iraqi lawmakers from Moqtada Sadr's bloc resigned Sunday, the parliamentary speaker said, in a move ostensibly designed to up the pressure to end an eight-month political paralysis.
Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the Sadr faction in Iraq, had previously called on members of the faction to submit their resignations to the speaker of parliament.
The leader of the Sadr faction described the request as a "sacrifice" for the Iraqi people and country in order to get rid of the "unknown destiny".
Parliament in Baghdad has been in turmoil since October's general election, and intense negotiations among political factions have failed to forge a majority in support of a new prime minister to succeed Mustafa al-Kadhemi.
In the current Iraqi parliament, the Sadr faction, with 73 seats, held the largest number of seats in the 329-member parliament.
For this reason, Muqtada al-Sadr considered this current to be the main political faction in Iraq at the same time, and he believed that it should determine which government is formed in Iraq and which person should be nominated, especially for the post of Prime Minister.
Muqtada al-Sadr had previously tried to form a parliamentary majority through a coalition with the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Sunni-led coalition led by Mohammed al-Halbousi, but the three groups' representatives were not large enough to form a majority. 219
