Shafaq News / Today, Wednesday, legal expert Salem Hawas disclosed the constitutional schedule for the election of the new parliament speaker after the termination of former speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi's membership.

Hawas informed Shafaq News Agency, "the current effective internal system of the Parliament, No. 1 of 2022, stipulates in Article 12 the necessity of selecting the speaker in the first session following the termination, dismissal, resignation, or vacancy of the position to preserve balances between political blocs."

He stated, "It is legally incorrect for the sessions to be chaired by the first or second deputy for an extended or shortened period due to the vacancy of the position. Such an act constitutes a clear violation of the internal system's text. Even if the session is postponed multiple times due to the lack of quorum, sessions should be chaired by the authentic speaker. Otherwise, the balances as mentioned in the text and customary political practices, not constitutional ones, would not be maintained."

The legal provisions of Article 12 in the internal system state: Firstly, "Upon the president's or one of his deputies' resignation, it is accepted after the council's majority approval of the attending members. Secondly, the Parliament has the authority to dismiss the president or one of his deputies according to the law. Thirdly, if the position of the council's president or any of his deputies becomes vacant for any reason, the council shall elect a replacement in its first session to fill the vacancy according to the political balance criteria between blocs."

The legal expert continued, stating that "Article 55 of the Constitution mandates that the Parliament elect a president in its first session by an absolute majority of its members through direct secret ballot. Therefore, this Parliament is obligated to elect a new president in a session held after the Federal Court's decision."

Yesterday, Tuesday, the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court, the highest judicial authority in the country, issued a decision to terminate the membership of Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, a prominent Iraqi Sunni politician, following a lawsuit alleging "forgery" filed by one of the members of Parliament.

The statement released on the court's official website mentioned, "The Court has decided to terminate the membership of Parliament Speaker Mohammed Rikan al-Halbousi effective from the date of the judgment on November 14, 2023." The Court also took a similar decision against the deputy, Laith Mustafa Hamoud al-Dulaimi, who filed the lawsuit, according to the statement.

The trial began last February before the Federal Supreme Court following a complaint filed by the deputy Laith al-Dulaimi, accusing the Parliament Speaker of "forgery" in a resignation request made previously under his name, aiming to expel him from Parliament.