Baghdad council member quits Taqadum party

Shafaq News/ A member of the Baghdad Provincial Council, Rafah Al-Zubaie, announced on Sunday her withdrawal from the Taqadum (The National Progress) party led by former Iraqi parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi.

In a statement, Al-Zubaie said her decision was in protest against "exclusion and obstruction of free and collective action."

Taqadum secured eight seats out of 49 in the Baghdad Provincial Council during Iraq’s 2023 local elections. However, the party has faced a series of defections following Al-Halbousi’s removal from the speakership.

On June 6, 2024, eleven lawmakers and provincial council members announced their departure from Taqadum, forming a new political bloc called the Initiative (Mubadara) Coalition. The group included senior figures such as Shalaan Al-Karim.

Member of Parliament Ziad Al-Janabi held a press conference at the time to declare the split, which effectively cost Taqadum a third of its parliamentary seats.

The defectors attributed their withdrawal to political stagnation and the prolonged failure of the legislature to elect a new speaker, demanding the implementation of the political agreement framework that led to the formation of the current government under Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani.

Following the formation of the Initiative bloc, lawmaker Nawras Al-Eisa also announced her departure from Taqadum to join the new coalition.

Further rifts emerged when senior Taqadum member Kareem Al-Dulaimi declared his resignation from the party, criticizing Al-Halbousi’s leadership style as "authoritarian" and accusing him of monopolizing decision-making and suppressing dissenting opinions.

Subsequently, two members who had previously defected returned to Taqadum.