Iraq's Sunni blocs deadlocked over parliament speaker post, with no resolution in sight: lawmaker

Shafaq News/ Sunni blocs in Iraq's parliament are currently at a deadlock over the position of speaker, a Sunni lawmaker said, hinting that the infighting will continue until the end of the parliamentary term.

It has been five months since Mohammed al-Halboosi was removed from the position by the Federal Court, and so far, no candidate has been named to replace him.

"The political factions are unable to agree on a single candidate, with each side wanting to nominate someone from their own group," Abdul Wahab al-Bilawi, a member of the Alliance for a "United al-Anbar" told Shafaq News Agency. "There is no consensus on a compromise candidate or a single person supported by everyone." Al-Bilawi believes that these differences will leave the position of parliament speaker vacant until the end of the current parliamentary term, and there is no indication that this crisis will be resolved soon.

"Perhaps this is what some of the political parties want," he added.

Despite some parties indicating that the issue would be resolved after Eid al-Fitr, the Iraqi parliament has failed several times to choose a successor to al-Halboosi.