Shafaq News – Baghdad
Sunni political forces failed on Sunday to agree on a nominee for Iraq’s parliament speaker, leaving the post unresolved days before the constitutionally mandated first session of the new legislature.
In a statement, the National Political Council—which groups Sunni parties that won seats in the recent elections—said its leaders convened at the residence of Thabet Al-Abbasi, head of the Al-Hasm Alliance, in Baghdad to review constitutional entitlements and underline the need to resolve them within the prescribed timeframe.
Participants, the council noted, agreed to continue deliberations at another meeting scheduled for Tuesday, reaffirming its commitment to the constitutional timetable for convening parliament on December 29, as called by the president, and to settling the selection of the speaker and two deputies during that session.
Earlier today, Salah Al-Dulaimi of the Al-Azm Alliance told Shafaq News that Sunni leaders plan to meet under the council’s umbrella to reach a consensus on a single nominee or narrow the contest to two names before parliament convenes.
On December 14, Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court ratified the final results of the parliamentary elections, a step that formally opens the path for the next legislative term. Under the constitution, parliament must elect a speaker and two deputies within 15 days of ratification. The president must then be elected within 30 days of the first parliamentary session, followed by the designation of a prime minister within 15 days. The prime minister-designate is required to form a cabinet within 30 days.
Under Iraq’s post-2003 power-sharing system, the premiership is allocated to a Shiite Arab, the speakership to a Sunni Arab, and the presidency to a Kurd. Sunni political forces have narrowed the race for parliament speaker to a small group of contenders, with Muthanna Al-Samarrai, leader of Al-Azm Alliance, widely described as the frontrunner.
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