Baghdad, March 01: Anti-U.S. Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Monday urged Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to address peoples’ demands after weeks of nationwide protests over better basic services inspired by regional uprisings.
Maliki set a 100-day deadline for his ministers on Sunday to step up reforms or face losing their jobs as Iraqis continue to demonstrate against corruption and shortages of electricity, food and jobs.
“Everything happening in Iraq is his (Maliki’s) responsibility and this cannot be escaped from …,” Sadr said in a statement.
“He has to offer solutions to solve the current problems of the people as soon as possible,” Sadr’s statement said.
Sadr last week asked his supporters to give the government six months to try to address their demands, although he also said he would support peaceful demonstrations.
His political movement overcame longstanding differences with Maliki last year to support his bid for a second term and join his coalition government.
Progress in Iraq has been sluggish eight years after the U.S.-led invasion and dissatisfaction has been growing.
Maliki said at a news conference on Monday that Iraq’s cabinet supported a call to hold early provincial elections after parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi said on Sunday the assembly was to discuss holding an early vote by next week.
“We support the call from the council of representatives to hold early elections in the provincial councils,” Maliki said.
An election law would need to be amended for this to happen.
On Monday, Tareq al-Hashemi, a vice presidential nominee, urged the government to show real intention for reform and said he did not expect that the 100-day timeframe given to cabinet by Maliki would be enough to meet the demands of protesters.
“The 100 days is not enough. Even a year is not enough. But I hope these demands will be given priority so they can be achieved,” Hashemi said at a news conference.
“People need to experience that there is a change and then the wheel of reform will start to turn,” he said.
Maliki, who reiterated his affirmation for Iraqis’ right to protest peacefully, said the 100-day plan was to test the competency of ministers and did not mean that all the citizens’ demands would be met within that timeframe.
“The issue of the 100-day (plan) is a rule adopted in countries around the world and is a test. It shows the competence of the minister and whether he can put the ministry on the right course or not. It is not a process of implementing the demands within 100 days,” Maliki said.
Sadr said his movement would hold a week-long referendum throughout the country to find out about Iraqis’ gripes.
“This referendum does not mean the cancellation of protests. We want to document what the people want in order to demonstrate and present the real opinion of Iraqis,” Hazem al-Araji, one of Sadr’s senior aides, told reporters at a news conference.
–Agencies