Iraq's Sovereignty Alliance backs Al-Mashhadani for House Speaker: Source

Shafaq News/ On Thursday, Iraq’s Sovereignty Alliance (Al-Siyada), led by Khamis al-Khanjar, confirmed its position regarding the session to elect a new House Speaker by agreeing to support Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani, who was nominated by the Progress Party (Taqaddum), led by former Speaker Mohammed Al-Halboosi.

A responsible source within the Alliance told Shafaq News, “Al-Siyada's leadership directed all its MPs to attend the session to elect the Speaker of Parliament and vote for Al-Mashhadani, ensuring he secures the majority needed to become the new Speaker.”

The source, speaking anonymously, affirmed, "The Alliance's support for Al-Mashhadani aims to address the ongoing crisis that has lasted nearly a year and to prioritize key legislation impacting citizens' lives, particularly the General Amnesty Law and others."

Today's session to elect a new Speaker comes after political forces have struggled to fill the position since the removal of former Speaker al-Halboosi in November 2023 due to disagreements. The Taqadum bloc, led by Mohammed al-Halboosi, insisted on retaining the position as its entitlement. In contrast, Al-Siyada bloc, headed by Khamis al-Khanjar, argued that the seat should represent the entire Sunni community rather than a single party. However, the ruling Shiite Coordination Framework, which has a parliamentary majority, backed Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani for the position.

On October 23, six Sunni parties, led by Taqaddum Party, issued a joint statement proposing two pathways to resolve the 11-month deadlock in electing a Speaker. The parties — Taqaddum, al-Jamaheer al-Wataniya, al-Hasm, the Iraqi National Project, al-Sadara, and al-Mubadara — outlined options for resolving the impasse.

The first option calls on competing factions to withdraw their nominees and back Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, who has garnered support from a majority of Sunni and parliamentary blocs. The alternative option proposes proceeding with legal procedures in parliament to nominate a new candidate with broad backing from the Sunni majority, preserving their right to fill the position.

In contrast, Al-Siyada bloc urged political partners to “respect the choice of the Sunni majority” and avoid holding any parliamentary sessions to elect the Speaker without “authorization” from the Sunni representatives convening in Baghdad.