In a speech on August 3, Sadr asked his supporters to continue their sit-in inside the Iraqi parliament building and rejected calls for dialogue issued by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi 

The protesters opposing the government formation efforts of Mohammed Shia al-Sudani stormed the high security Green Zone in Baghdad to demand the cancellation of his prime ministership.

While asking the demonstrators to maintain peace, Moqtada al-Sadr called the sit-in a “golden opportunity” to “fundamentally change the political system and the constitution” of the country

The Iraqi government demanded an official apology from Turkey as well as the immediate withdrawal of all Turkish forces from the country. Opposition groups in Turkey called the attack against civilians a war crime

A member of the Iraqi communist party, al-Nawab wrote poetry against capitalism and imperialism. He had lived widely across the Arab world after leaving Iraq in the 1960s due to persistent political persecution against communists 

Muqtada al-Sadr, who won the maximum number of seats in the October elections, is determined to go against the general practice of a consensus government and wants to form a government based on political majority, claiming that it will establish accountability

The fifth elections since the 2003 US-led invasion of the country saw the lowest voter turnout (41%), amid growing discontent with the political system due to widespread corruption, inefficiency and government apathy

The elections are taking place one year ahead of schedule following popular protests that broke out in October 2019 against the failure of successive governments to address the rising economic and political problems in the country

The Iraqi Communist Party, which was part of the leading alliance in the last elections in 2018, announced in July that it will not participate in the upcoming national elections in October due to the lack of a conducive political atmosphere

The protests in Baghdad are part of a wave of dissent that has swept the country since 2019. The protesters sought the arrest of those responsible for political assassinations, and also demanded that the economic crisis be addressed

Protesters, who marched in several cities renewing their demands for an overhaul of Iraq’s political system and an end to corruption, were met with police repression

Protesters claim that despite the months-long protests and change of government, none of their demands have been fulfilled. They warned of a strike from October 25 if their demands were not met