Iraq top cleric says new PM must be chosen without 'foreign interference'

CAIRO – 6 December 2019: Iraq's top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani demanded on Friday that choosing a new prime minister for the country must be free of "foreign interference."

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi resigned last week after two months of mass protests that demanded the government and political elite to step down and for Iran to stop interfering in the internal affairs of Baghdad.

Protests have criticized the political elite and Iraqi government as “corrupt” as they protested poor living conditions, high unemployment rates and deteriorating services across the country.

Speaking through his representative in the shrine city of Karbala, Sistani added that Shiite religious leadership, had "no role in any way" in discussions on a replacement, according to AFP.