Iraq’s top court ruled on Wednesday that it cannot dissolve parliament, a key demand by powerful cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his millions of supporters and a major sticking point in the power struggle. that sparked bloody clashes in Baghdad last month.
The Federal Supreme Court said in a statement that parliament should be dissolved if it is deemed not to have fulfilled its obligations.
The Iraqi Parliament is a powerful body that elects the president and prime minister and must pass all laws.
A political crisis in Iraq that began after elections in October brought violence to the streets with the worst clashes the country has seen in years.
Armed Sadr supporters exchanged machine-gun and rocket fire with government forces and Iranian-backed militant groups in late August after Sadr abandoned politics and let protesters storm government buildings.
Sadr was the biggest winner of the October vote, but in June he withdrew all his lawmakers, almost a quarter of parliament, and resorted to fueling street protests after his movement failed to form a government.
The cleric’s opponents, mostly Iranian-backed parties with armed wings, have tried but also failed to form a government in the face of protests and unrest.
