• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
  • WORLD DEMOCRACY
  • POLITICAL ART
  • more
    • election technology
    • money politics
    • political dissidents
    • THIRD PARTY
      • third party central
      • green party
      • justice party
      • libertarian party
    • voting methods
  • DC INFO
    • author central
    • about
    • advertise with DC
    • contact
    • privacy policy

Democracy Chronicles

After a Month of Countrywide Protest, The Iraqi Prime Minister Resigns

by Thomas Manning - December 5, 2019

FacebookTweetLinkedInPin

Iraqi Prime Minister Resigns

Following two months of anti-government protests, Iraqi-Prime Minister Adel-Abdul-Mahdi has submitted his resignation to Parliament following the bloodiest day of violence since the protest began in early October. The next weeks and months are set to be critical for Iraq’s nascent democracy.

Abdul-Mahdi resigned following the deaths of over 40 protesters on Thursday, November 27, a day when protesters attacked the Iranian consulate in Baghdad and set fire to it. An estimated 400 people have been killed by Iraqi security forces since the beginning of protests.

The protest movement was launched spontaneously after people took the streets in Baghdad to demand the government address three main issues: 1) the endemic corruption inside the government, 2) high unemployment rates, and 3) foreign interference inside Iraqi politics, particularly from Iranian forces and the Iranian government.

“In response to this call, and in order to facilitate it as quickly as possible, I will present to parliament a demand to accept my resignation from the leadership of the current government,” Prime Minister Mahdi’s statement said last Friday.

According to reports, the first civilian deaths took place in October when 149 civilians were killed in six days of protests. Such a large number of deaths led to the protests broadening from largely Iraqi youth in Baghdad to a national movement that spread to cities throughout the country.

“It is our first demand. That will change something. Then our second demand is to shut down parliament.” A protestor named Hejar told the BBC. “We’re hoping its going to happen, because our young guys are very strong and they have their words, we say that we’re going to stay here,” he continued.

According to the latest statistics available Iraq’s official unemployment rate stood at 7.89 percent in 2017 with a poverty rate of 22.5 percent nationwide. Iraq’s new and nominally democratic government, unlike other Middle Eastern countries, was not largely impacted by the Arab Spring of 2011 which saw numerous Middle Eastern leaders deposed by protests and revolutions.

The deaths of the protesters have taken place throughout the country in different cities. Following the over 40 killed on Thursday, at least another 15 were killed by security forces Friday.

Amnesty International’s Middle Eastern researcher, Lynn Maalouf, said that she was appalled by the “security forces’ use of appalling violence against largely peaceful protestors.”

Protestors at Iran’s consultant in Najaf, chanted “Iran out of Iraq,” before setting fire to the consulate. The consulate was the second of Iran’s consultants to be burned in the past few weeks. Iran’s office in Karbala was torched by protesters about three weeks ago.

Iraq has been struggling to stabilize its country since the United States invaded and overthrew the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein in 2003/ 2004. The invasion set off a wave of horrific sectarian violence between Shia and Sunni Muslims. The civil war was largely won by the Shiite dominated government and saw the neighboring Shiite power of Iran gaining influence in key sectors of the country.

Through these protests, the anger of the Shiite Iraqis against Iran’s power in Iraq has come to be recognized more clearly. Protesters fury at Iranian influence, as seen through the targeting of Iranian interests in Iraq, has shown that many Shiites have come to see Iran as having fed the high economic insecurity, government mismanagement and endemic corruption that plagues the country.

No date has been set yet for Mr. Mahdi’s official resignation.

Mr. Mahdi did the right thing in resigning and bringing further attention to the serious concerns of the protesters. The protesters have now made sacrifices in large numbers to voice their dissent against the government and they still refuse to back down. The United States should do what it can to support the protesters who have been fighting against the Iranian influence in Iraq. It would also be prudent to stand with protestors who have been protesting in Iran as well.

FacebookTweetLinkedInPin

Filed Under: DC Authors Tagged With: Democracy Protests, Iran, Iraq, Middle East

About Thomas Manning

Thomas Manning writes for Democracy Chronicles from New York City and is a key part of our increasing coverage of democracy news. Checkout the rest of our international team of authors as well. Together, they help cover free and fair elections on every continent with a focus on election reform in the United States.

Some highlighted Democracy Chronicles topics

Africa American Corruption American Local Elections American State Elections Asia Capitalism and Big Business Celebrity Politics China Democracy Charity Democracy Protests Democrats Dictatorships Education Election History Election Methods Election Security Election Transparency Europe Internet and Democracy Journalism and Free Speech Middle East Minority Voting Rights Money Politics New York City and State Elections Political Artwork Political Dissidents Political Lobbying Redistricting Republicans Russia Socialism and Labor Social Media and Democracy South America Spying and Privacy Supreme Court Third Party Voter Access Voter ID Voter Registration Voter Suppression Voter Turnout Voting Technology Women Voting Rights Worldwide Worldwide Corruption

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Home | DC AUTHORS | After a Month of Countrywide Protest, The Iraqi Prime Minister Resigns

Primary Sidebar

Advertise button

A Dangerous Reprise Of American Exceptionalism In Ukraine

By Jamie Lampidis May 15, 2022

The stakes are too high to cave into Putin’s phantasmatic imperial play, and too high to believe that this war can be won by arming Ukrainians.

On The Coming End Of Roe v. Wade

By Peter J. Dellolio May 11, 2022

Anyone who says that the evolution of law has nothing to do with politics is either very corrupt or very stupid. Laws evolved through the centuries.

democracy chronicles newsletter

DC AUTHORS

Goodbye Roe v. Wade, Goodbye Rule Of Law

By Andrew Straw May 5, 2022

Congress should impeach judges who act like that because it is not good behavior, and they were asked not to act that way when they were confirmed.

PODCAST: Debating The Future Of Debates

By Jenna Spinelle May 4, 2022

We love a good debate — and have certainly had plenty of them on this show. But how effective are they in today’s media and political landscape?

What “Pro-Palestine” Student Groups Get Wrong

By David Anderson, J.D. May 3, 2022

Back then – as now – this fit into a “colonialist” narrative of European Jews oppressing Arabs – an easy, eye pleasing but intellectually lazy fit.

Examining Government As A “Necessary Evil”

By Gary Berton April 29, 2022

Thomas Paine defines government as separate from society, and indeed if society functioned perfectly there would be no need for government.

Ukrainian And Polish History: Fighting The Empires

By Maxim Sidorenko April 26, 2022

On February 24th, Russia started an unprovoked war against Ukraine. It has become one more attempt of the empire to demolish the Ukrainian state.

PODCAST: What Student Debt Says About Democratic Institutions

By Jenna Spinelle April 26, 2022

In a new book, Josh Mitchell draws alarming parallels to the housing crisis, showing the catastrophic consequences student debt has had on families.

Aging White Men Who Commit Voter Fraud Have Nothing To Fear

By Steve Schneider April 22, 2022

The sentences stand in contrast with the actions of the Governor who recently got the state legislature to create an election integrity police force.

MORE FROM OUR AUTHORS

VISIT OUR POLITICAL ART SECTION:

dc political art

DEMOCRACY CULTURE

Kenyan 'Cartooning For Peace' To Draw Africa Towards Democracy

Kenyan ‘Cartooning For Peace’ To Draw Africa Towards Democracy

May 17, 2022

Cartooning is an art that has been playing a major role in illustrating stories in different ways, from health to politics, and even sports.

Anxious Leaders Influence Their Followers' Anxiety, Even Online

Anxious Leaders Influence Their Followers’ Anxiety, Even Online

May 17, 2022

Organizational leader’s tweets can influence employee anxieties and this effect is more prominent since the rise of COVID-19, study.

North Korea Cracks Down On 'Capitalist' Pop Culture

North Korea Cracks Down On ‘Capitalist’ Pop Culture

May 6, 2022

North Korea has increased its campaign against “capitalist” style clothing, others, in broader crackdown on foreign pop culture.

DiCaprio, Ruffalo Urge Brazilians To Vote, Irking Bolsonaro

DiCaprio, Ruffalo Urge Brazilians To Vote, Irking Bolsonaro

May 6, 2022

Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo joined other celebrities making a final push for voters in Brazil to register to vote.

Mock M&M Election Teaches Alaskans About Ranked Voting

Mock M&M Election Teaches Alaskans About Ranked Voting

April 26, 2022

There are paper cups with eight different kinds of M&M near the entrance to Amalga Distillery in Juneau for a mock ranked choice vote.

MORE CULTURE

VISIT OUR US DEMOCRACY SECTION:

American Democracy