Disarmament push intensifies: Iraqi MP demands ban on faction-linked candidates

Shafaq News – Baghdad

Iraq’s Parliamentary Reconstruction and Development Bloc (Al-I‘mar wa al-Tanmiyah) backed on Thursday, the government’s campaign to place weapons exclusively under state control.

Speaking to Shafaq News, Lawmaker Hamid al-Shiblawi described the task as “demanding and close to impossible” after years of entrenched challenges, while crediting the current administration with averting external crises and internal conflict.

Highlighting the consequences of prolonged instability, al-Shiblawi noted that “years of failure, corruption, and interference in state institutions have left civilians and members of the security forces vulnerable to uncontrolled weapons and groups operating outside the law,” stressing that stronger government measures are needed, including barring candidates linked to armed factions from participating in the November 11 parliamentary elections.

The remarks followed a meeting of the Coordination Framework, a coalition dominated by Shiite political factions, where the government’s disarmament efforts were extensively discussed.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani later reaffirmed that limiting weapons to official institutions remains “a fundamental pillar of a strong and respected state,” emphasizing that “no party is entitled to override state authority or act in its place.”