1st LD: Prominent Shiite cleric urges Iraq's protesting legislators to end sit-in

A prominent Shiite cleric on Wednesday urged protesting legislators to end their sit-in inside the parliament building to pave the way for voting on a new cabinet as part of a comprehensive reform plan.

Moqtada al-Sadr urged the group of dissenting legislators to "end their protest in parliament and not to engage in political bickering."

In an address on national television, Sadr demanded a "freeze" on his loyal al-Ahrar party in parliament "until a voting session is held to determine the new cabinet of independent technocrats and government posts."

The al-Ahrar party holds 34 of the parliament's 328 seats, in addition to three cabinet posts, all of whom previously resigned from their posts.

Sadr's call comes a day after the Iraqi parliament speaker, Salim al-Jubouri, suspended parliament sessions until further notice following a disagreement which erupted during the voting session scheduled to choose the new parliament speaker.

Observers believe Sadr's latest move may be a significant step towards easing the political tension and discord which has driven the country's political process to a standstill.

A critical divide was apparent in parliament Thursday as it held an emergency session which included dozens of dissenting legislators, and parliament speaker al-Jubouri was relieved of his duties, choosing instead as interim parliament speaker the eldest legislator, Adnan al-Janabi.

The decision was rejected by the legislators' other camp, who argued that the session was unconstitutional due to the insufficient required quorum.

Discord intensified between the parliament presidency panel and the legislators protesting inside the parliament.

The protesting legislators criticized al-Jubouri for the repeated delay of the proposed vote on the new cabinet candidates according to the reforms proposed by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

Legislators from various parties demanded an end to the quota system, which was created following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq to control and divide Iraq's resources between political parties representing Iraq's ethnic and sectarian factions.

Recently, Sadr, with thousands of his followers gathering in Baghdad, demanded that Abadi achieve substantial reforms, including a government reshuffle, better services and end corruption.

Iraqis want the reforms to also address the country's economic crisis amid a sharp drop in global oil prices, as security forces fight Islamic State (IS) militants in the north and west of Iraq. Endit