Crisis in choosing the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament: No indications of a solution soon, 14 FEB

 Crisis in choosing the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament: No indications of a solution soon

The dispute over the appointment of a consensus candidate for the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament has entered its third month. The Sunni forces, in accordance with the sectarian quota system that has been in place in the nation since the American invasion, are entitled to the position, and this has prevented the parliamentary blocs and political parties from coming to any agreements. This is because Muhammad al-Halbousi was dismissed last November by a decision of the Federal Supreme Court.

The Iraqi Parliament’s Speaker has not been chosen yet.

In the past, the three Sunni Arab blocs—”Taqadum,” “Sovereignty,” and “Azm”—kept holding onto their candidates, Shaalan al-Karim, Salem Al-Issawi, and Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani, preventing the Iraqi Parliament from selecting a speaker in four of its scheduled sessions.

Another factor that encourages the coalition’s opponents to believe that postponing the resolution of the crisis surrounding the election of the next Speaker of Parliament is in the best interests of the ruling coalition in Iraq, known as the “coordination framework,” is the fact that Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, is currently leading Parliament through the agency.

Muhammad Al-Alawi: We are awaiting the Supreme Court’s ruling. The post is an election right to the “Taqadum” group.

Muhammad Al-Alawi, a well-known member of the “Taqaddum” Party, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that there are currently no agreements about the role of Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament. He noted that there haven’t been any talks in the last few days because of the ongoing concern over the local government naming process.

The Coordination Framework (Twitter)

Arab News

Iraq: The degree of division within the “coordination committee” is seen in the establishment of local administrations.

According to Al-Alawi, “this position is an electoral entitlement for us, given the majority of the members of the House of Representatives from the component,” and his party is still certain about Shaalan Al-Karim as its candidate. Everyone ought to accept that Sunni. “Removing the advancement of their entitlement may have consequences for the future electoral entitlements of all blocs and parties,” he expressed his belief.

“The political forces are still awaiting what the Federal Supreme Court will issue regarding the last session to elect the Speaker of Parliament, as well as the complaint submitted against our presidential candidate,” the “Taqadum” member continued. Perhaps the court’s decision will be helpful in resolving this crisis and getting out of the state of impasse that the parties have reached.” “Participatory.”

Due to the controversy surrounding the release of an earlier videotape featuring Shaalan al-Karim that political parties claimed to be a “glorification” of the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the Federal Supreme Court heard a case last month seeking to invalidate al-Karim’s nomination for the position of Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament. Should the case be upheld, Shaalan al-Karim’s immunity would be lifted. and reporting him to the courts in compliance with the relevant “de-Baathification” legislation of Iraq. MPs Yousef Al-Kalabi and Falih Al-Khazali filed the complaint that day, requesting that the state halt the election process until the dispute was settled.

Maher Judeh: The Sunni party is split between supporters of Al-Halbousi and opponents of destroying what little hope the latter has for electoral success.

Following that, Taqaddam Party delegate Haibat Al-Halbousi filed a lawsuit alleging “violations and violations” that happened during the House of Representatives session. It is anticipated that the court will rule on these charges in the next few days.

The Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament may be in crisis for an extended period of time.

Speaking to “Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed,” Arif Al-Hamami, a representative of the “Coordinating Framework” coalition in power in Iraq, stated that “the differences regarding the election of a new Speaker of Parliament have nothing to do with the file of forming local governments, but what is hindering the resolution of this The problem lies in the fact that all political factions cannot agree on a candidate for this role.

“The negotiations stopped during the last period, due to disagreements and each side’s adherence to its position,” Al-Hamami said. “A political decision cannot be taken in light of the Federal Court’s failure to resolve the complaint about the most prominent candidate for the position, Shaalan Al-Karim.”

Because the Sunni political groups are unable to reach a consensus on a single candidate or even a settlement candidate, Al-Hamami believed that the problem was getting worse as time went on to find a solution. Due to this issue, we have reached a deadlock where discussions are currently on hold. We anticipate that this crisis will not go away. They are not far from solutions.

“There is a political intention to delay the decision to choose the president of the new Iraqi parliament, and this matter was taken by Sunni and Shiite political parties,” political analyst Maher Joudah stated in an interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. “As a result, the crisis will prolong and enter the stage of stagnation, as happened.” Previously, while the government was being formed.

“The Sunni party is the one who does not want any new president other than Al-Halbousi, for fear that this president will take over,” Judeh said. “The Shiite party wants the position of Speaker of Parliament to remain in its hands for as long as possible, so that it can pass whatever parliamentary laws and decisions it wants without any objection.” The dispute is severe and hard to settle because of the political and parliamentary dominance that Al-Halbousi has established, while another Sunni party seeks to actively destroy any remaining political future for Al-Halbousi.

A compromise candidate may be proposed by the blocs and parties to end the crisis, the political analyst noted, “moving away from all the currently nominated names, which we believe will be difficult to pass.” Any of them, if the intervention of an external factor to end this crisis lasts a long time, deepens, and greatly affects political stability.

In light of a case brought by a politician accusing Al-Halbousi of fabricating his resignation from Parliament in order to put pressure on him, the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq determined on November 14 to dissolve his membership in the Parliament. Since then, disagreements about Al-Halbousi’s replacement have arisen between the different political factions.