Iraqi MP Mahmoud Shakir Al Salami dies in Parliament

The cause of his death is not yet known

Iraq's Parliament on October 27 during a confidence vote in which MPs approved the new government after a year-long crisis triggered by contested elections. Photo: Iraqi Parliament media office

A Shiite politician died on Wednesday while inside the Parliament building.

Mahmoud Shakir Al Salami, a member of the State of Law Coalition established and led by former prime minister Nouri Al Maliki, was from the southern governorate of Thi Qar.

Mr Al Salami’s health condition deteriorated while he was holding regular meetings inside the parliament building, the Coalition said.

He was later transferred to Ibin Sina hospital inside the Green Zone where he was pronounced dead.

The cause of his death is so far unknown.

Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al Halbousi expressed his sincere condolences to his family.

Iraq held early national elections in October last year, the fifth parliamentary vote for a full-term government since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

But political wrangling over forming a new government has delayed Parliament's sessions. Sessions only resumed last month, to elect the country’s new President and approve the new government.

The State of Law is part of the Co-ordination Framework, the largest political group in parliament and an umbrella bloc of Shiite parties united mostly by their opposition to the Sadrist movement, which controls 138 of 329 seats.

The late MP was among several politicians from Thi Qar province who met Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani and discussed a number of issues, including the water shortage in the province.

Post-election rivalry

Supporters of Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr during a sit-in at a parliament building in Baghdad, Iraq. Reuters

Moqtada Al Sadr supporters sleeping in the grounds of the Iraqi parliament building complex in Baghdad. Reuters

Protesters inside the parliament building in Baghdad. AP Photo

Protesters at prayer in the parliament building. Reuters

Iraqi men distribute free meals for supporters of Mr Al Sadr during the parliament building sit-in.. Reuters

Anti-corruption protesters in the parliament building in Baghdad, Iraq. Reuters

Protesters during their occupation of the Iraqi parliament building in Baghdad. Reuters

Supporters of Moqtada Al Sadr, head of the Sadrist movement, rest after storming the parliament building in the Green Zone in central Baghdad. EPA

Iraqi security forces were unable to prevent supporters of Mr Al Sadr entering the Green Zone. EPA

Supporters of cleric Moqtada Al Sadr, protesting against a rival bloc's nomination for prime minister, gather inside Iraq's parliament in Baghdad's high-security Green Zone. AFP

Supporters of Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr protest inside the parliament building, in Baghdad. Reuters

A veiled woman protester holds an Iraqi flag as people gather near the Green Zone area, in Baghdad. AP

Supporters of Mr Al Sadr on Saturday entered Iraq's parliament, after hundreds breached the building on Wednesday in similar protests. AFP

Demonstrators wave Iraqi flags and pictures of Mr Al Sadr inside the legislature. AFP

Protesters inside the parliament building. Reuters

Protesters enter the building after thousands of Sadrists had massed at the end of a bridge leading to Baghdad's Green Zone. AFP

The protests are the latest challenge for Iraq, which remains stuck in a political deadlock.

A supporter of Mr Al Sadr waves a flag during the protest at the parliament building. Reuters

Mr Al Sadr's bloc emerged from elections in October as the biggest parliamentary faction, but was still far short of a majority. AFP

Nearly 10 months on, the stalemate persists over the establishment of a new government. AFP

Protesters try to remove concrete barriers, to cross the bridge towards the Green Zone in Baghdad. AP Photo

Security forces gather as supporters of Mr Al Sadr bring down concrete barriers leading to the capital Baghdad's high-security Green Zone. AFP