Influential Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Monday called for early elections as university and college students in several provinces joined the protests. Despite warnings issued by the Iraqi government and the Ministry of Education but school students in a number of cities continued for the second day in a row in supporting the protests. In Kut city, students rallied in rallies despite the rains, in the cities of Basra, Diwaniyah, Nasiriyah and Amara, many students took part in demonstrations condemning the situation in the country, stressing their support for the demands of peaceful demonstrations. In Babil province, students announced a general strike, while Mustansiriya University in Baghdad adopted the same thing. Hundreds of students staged a sit-in at al-Farahidi University and Mustansiriya Medical University.
The Iraqi authorities have declared a night-time curfew in the capital, Baghdad, on the fourth day of a fresh wave of anti-government protests. Vehicle and pedestrian movement are prohibited between 00:00 and 06:00 until further notice. It came after five protesters were reportedly killed in Baghdad on Monday. But thousands of demonstrators, including many students, defied the curfew, vowing to continue their protests in the city, reports say. “We will stay here until the last day, even if there are a thousand martyrs,” one protester was quoted as saying.
Iraq’s Parliament is planning to summon three ministers from Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi’s cabinet in November as pressure on the government mounts with protests continuing. Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbous said that several factions have submitted requests to summon three ministers and the prime minister.. The Parlimant also agreed on terminating the activities of all provincial and municipality councils, excluding those in the Kurdistan Region, until the next elections schedule for April, 2020, and authorized the governors of the provinces to manage the financial and administrative activities until new councils will be elected.
