Iraqi President Barham Salih sought to reassure demonstrators that moves are being made to address their grievances. He reported he had secured a promise from Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi to resign.



It’s a sort of promise, at least. Abdul Mahdi is citing concerns of a “constitutional vacuum” and will only resign if the major political blocs agree on an “acceptable replacement.” This is tantamount to saying he’s not going to resign, and his appointment took forever with those parties disagreeing over who would get the premiership at the time.



If anything, this is just another empty promise to try to placate the protesters, and they’re not buying it. Instead of a simple change in leadership, the protesters are demanding a complete overhaul of the system, including a purge of corrupt elites.



Protesters continue to mass in the streets across Iraq, demanding economic and political reforms, and rejecting military demands to disperse and obey heavy-handed curfews.





Author: Jason Ditz Jason Ditz is news editor of Antiwar.com. View all posts by Jason Ditz