Bahaa Araji ( ar, بهاء الاعرجي) is an

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

i politician, who was a member of the

Iraqi National Assembly The Council of Representatives ( ar, مجلس النواب, Majlis an-Nuwwāb al-ʿIrāqiyy; ku, ئه‌نجومه‌نی نوێنه‌ران, ''Enjumen-e Nûnerên''), usually referred to simply as the Parliament is the unicameral legislature o ...

until 2014. He served as Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs from September 2014 to August 2015. He is a spokesman for the

United Iraqi Alliance The National Iraqi Alliance (NIA or INA; ar, الائتلاف الوطني العراقي; transliterated: al-Itilaf al-Watani al-Iraqi), also known as the Watani List, is an Iraqi electoral coalition that contested the 2010 Iraqi legislative ...

and a member of the

Sadrist Movement The Sadrist Movement ( ar, التيار الصدري ') is an Iraqi Islamic national movement led by Muqtada al-Sadr. The movement draws wide support from across Iraqi society and especially from the Shi'a poor in the country. The most important ...

which is led by Muqtada as-Sadr. He was succeeded as the head of the Ahrar bloc in parliament by Dia al-Asadi. He was a member of the committee that drafted the

Constitution of Iraq The Constitution of the Republic of Iraq ( ar, دستور جمهورية العراق Kurdish: دەستووری عێراق) is the fundamental law of Iraq. The first constitution came into force in 1925. The current constitution was adopted on Se ...

, where he opposed the proposal for Shia and Sunni Arab Regions

During Government of Iraq from 2006, coalition negotiations in 2006 he strongly opposed the inclusion of

Iyad Allawi Ayad Allawi ( ar, إيَاد عَلَّاوِي ; born 31 May 1944) is an Iraqi politician. He served as the vice president of Iraq from 2014 to 2015 and 2016 to 2018. Previously he was interim prime minister of Iraq from 2004 to 2005 and the ...

Iraqi National List The Iraqi National List ( ar, القائمة العراقية الوطنية) was a coalition of Iraqi political parties who ran in the December 2005 Iraqi elections and got 8.0% of the vote and 25 out of 275 seats. History Prior to the December ...

in the government, saying they represented a red line drawn in blood. This was a reference to the crackdown that Allawi's

Iraqi Interim Government The Iraqi Interim Government was created by the United States and its coalition allies as a caretaker government to govern Iraq until the drafting of the new constitution following the National Assembly election conducted on January 30, 2005. T ...

launched against the

Mahdi Army The Peace Companies ( ar, سرايا السلام, or Saraya al Salam) are an Iraqi armed group linked to Iraq's Shia community. They are a 2014 revival of the Mahdi Army ( ''Jaysh al-Mahdī'') that was created by the Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada a ...

Personal life

Bahaa Al Araji was born in Kazimiyah, Baghdad, to a large family. He was the 5th oldest child of 11 to Hussein Al-Araji.

Iraq parliamentary Elections 2010

Bahaa Al Araji stood in the 2010 Iraqi Parliamentary Elections for the Nasiriyah district as candidate no.2 for the National Iraqi Alliance. He won a seat in the new government formation with over 40,000 votes, becoming the most popular candidate in the Nasiriyah district. He was nominated as one of the ten names on the Sadrist mock election ballot and received 5% of the votes, however the elections outcomes were discarded due to allegations of the voting being biased.

Resignation

In August 2015, after his resignation and consecutive Deputy Prime Minister position abolishment by an Al Abadi Government reform, he was targeted by a probe for nine allegations including property

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...

and financial corruption. He was one of the most prominent official to be investigated in the fight against corruption in Iraq.

Quotes

* "The Mahdi Army and the Sadrists represent a wide sect of the Iraqis and that is why Maliki should support them.

*"The people of Iraq are strong and will pull through everything in time."

References

External links

* Sadr link

Interview with Bahaa al-Araji of the United Iraqi Alliance
, ''

Asharq Alawsat ''Asharq Al-Awsat'' ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, Aš-Šarq al-ʾAwsaṭ, meaning "The Middle East") is an Arabic international newspaper headquartered in London. A pioneer of the "off-shore" model in the Arabic press, the paper is often noted f ...

'', 2006-10-26 *

2010 Iraqi parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Iraq on 7 March 2010. The elections decided the 325 members of the Council of Representatives who would elect the prime minister and president. The elections resulted in a partial victory for the Iraqi Nationa ...

Living people Members of the Council of Representatives of Iraq Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq politicians People from Baghdad 1967 births {{iraq-politician-stub