Shafaq News / Al-Fatah Alliance led by Hadi al-Amiri confirmed, on Wednesday, that MP Mahmoud al-Mashhadani is the candidate for the leadership of the State of Law Coalition, led by Nouri al-Maliki, for the presidency of the parliament.
After Al-Sadara bloc, which includes al-Mashhadani, allied with the Taqadum bloc, there has been a significant shift in the direction of electing the parliament speaker, especially as this bilateral alliance now holds the parliamentary Sunni majority. This is in addition to prominent Sunni political figures who have significant influence, according to al-Fatah leader Mahmoud al-Hayani.
Al-Sadara bloc comprises four deputies: Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, Talal al-Zobaie, Khaled al-Obeidi, and Mohammed Nouri al-Abd Rabbo, along with several other political leaders.
According to al-Hayani, “Recent developments indicate that the majority of the Coordination Framework is leaning towards voting for Mahmoud al-Mashhadani as the parliament speaker. This is particularly significant as the framework supports the Sunni bloc, which now holds the majority of seats, in line with political tradition. This majority was achieved afterAl-Sadara bloc allied with the Taqadum bloc.
Al-Mashhadani is the candidate of Nouri al-Maliki, who holds significant influence within the Framework. Therefore, the majority of the Framework's forces are expected to vote in favor of al-Mashhadani during the session next Saturday, designated for the election of the parliament speaker.
The position of the parliament speaker comes from the Sunni quota according to the political tradition prevalent in Iraq since the formation of the political system after 2003. Meanwhile, the positions of Prime Minister and President are designated for Shia and Kurdish candidates, respectively.
All eyes are now on the parliamentary session scheduled for next Saturday to elect a new Speaker of Parliament. This comes after four unsuccessful attempts to resolve this issue and the failure to find an alternative to Mohammed al-Halbousi due to the lack of consensus on a single candidate, amidst Sunni fragmentation and the Framework's insistence on nominating new figures or retaining Mohsen al-Mandalawi, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, as acting speaker.
Notably, three Sunni candidates are currently competing for the position: Saleem al-Jubouri, who received 97 votes during the first session held last January, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, who received 48 votes, and Talal al-Zubaie, who received one vote.
On November 14, 2023, the Federal Supreme Court, the highest judicial authority in Iraq, decided to end the membership of Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi. Then, the Iraqi Parliament officially terminated his membership on November 21, 2023.
On January 13, the Iraqi Parliament held an extraordinary session to choose the new Speaker. The first round of voting ended with the victory of the "Taqaddum" party's Shaalan al-Karim with 152 votes out of 314. MP Salem Al-Issawi followed him with 97 votes, MP Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani with 48 votes, MP Amer Abduljabbar with six votes, and MP Talal Al-Zobaie with one vote.
However, due to verbal altercations inside the council hall, the session was adjourned without completing the election process, and no other session was held.
Since then, the political blocs have been unable to agree on a replacement for him, with each side wanting to nominate someone from their group.
Despite al-Halbousi's Taqaddum Party insists on retaining the position because it holds the parliamentary majority within the Sunni component, his opponents from the Sovereignty (Al-Siyada), al-Azm, and Resolve (Al-Hasm) blocs believe that the position is the right of the component without being bound by a specific political title.