30 Oct 2019; MEMO: Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said yesterday that he is ready to resign on grounds of the escalating anti-government wave of protests across the country, the New Khaleej report.
“If [Muqtada] Al-Sadr [the head of the largest bloc in parliament] and Hadi Al-Amiri [leader of the second largest party] agreed to have a new government, I would resign.”
Al-Sadr invited his biggest political rival to work with him on ousting Abdul-Mahdi earlier this week.
On Monday, Al-Sadr had asked Abdul-Mahdi to announce early elections but the premier said yesterday he would not do so as it was up to parliament to do so.
After the violent crackdown on the protesters in Karbala, where 20 were killed and tens were wounded, Al-Sadr threatened to join the protesters.
AFP reported that he went joined thousands of protesters in Najaf yesterday.
According to AFP, at least 240 people have died and 8,000 have been wounded since the demonstrations broke out on 1 October over unemployment and corruption.
