Allawi called for early parliamentary elections

Shafaq News/ The head of the National Coalition, Iyad Allawi, considered the early elections the "only way " to resolve the political crisis in Iraq.

Speaking to the Al-Jazeera channel, Allawi said that he would participate in the next elections if the outcomes of the dialogue among the political forces would be based on the constitution."

He added, "The national dialogue must include all parties of Iraqi society, and the elections should be under the supervision of the Iraqi judiciary and the United Nations."

"The elections would not be useful because it would bring the same figures. Therefore, we have to amend the election law."

Today, the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, called for dissolving the Iraqi Parliament and holding early elections.

Al-Sadr said, "What is happening is not a power struggle as they are promoting. If we want power, we do not withdraw 73 deputies from Parliament; my return came to enact a necessary law against normalization (with Israel)."

The Shiite cleric called for early elections and dissolving the Parliament, but he said he had not decided if he would participate in the next elections.

Concerning the initiatives to hold talks, Al-Sadr stressed, "it is pointless to have a dialogue with them (the Coordination Framework). Dialogue with them has been tried and has only brought ruin and dependence on the country."

"Reform does not come without sacrifice, and I'm fully prepared to be martyred for the sake of reform." He said.

"The revolution began with the Sadrist; the revolution will not exclude the corrupters from the Sadrist movement."

Addressing the Iraqis, Al-Sadr added, "took advantage of my presence to end corruption. However, the revolutionaries and the protesters must continue until demands are achieved."

The head of the State of Law Coalition, Nuri al-Maliki, called for solving the conflicts based on the constitution, and the head of the Victory (Al-Nasr) Coalition, Haider al-Abadi, welcomed the recent speech of Muqtada Al-Sadr.

Al-Maliki tweeted, "The serious dialogues that resolve differences begin with a return to the constitution and respect for constitutional institutions."

In turn, Al-Abadi said, "I welcome the speech of my brother Muqtada al-Sadr, as it met in many aspects with our initiative to resolve the crisis, and I salute his steps and all the brothers for preserving blood and achieving reform."

Al-Abadi called on all parties to "join hands to serve the people, reform the system and strengthen the constitutional state through a healthy and peaceful democratic process."

Thousands of Iraqis took to the streets of Baghdad Monday in counter-protests as rival supporters of al-Sadr extended their sit-in in Parliament.

Almost ten months after Iraqis went to the polls, a political standoff pits two critical factions of the Shiite political scene, between the populist al-Sadr with a devoted following of millions, and the Coordination Framework, a consortium of mainly Iran-backed Shiite forces.

Amid the tensions, Ameri addressed an open letter to Sadr on Monday.

Noting that the tensions could boil over into violence, he called on his "brothers in the Sadrist movement and Coordination Framework to return to reason and wisdom, show restraint, and prioritize the country and people, through holding serious and constructive dialogue aimed at reaching solutions to disputes between them."