Iraq’s Deputy Speaker defends legality of disputed parliamentary session
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Iraq’s First Deputy Speaker Mohsen al-Mandalawi asserted on Wednesday that the parliamentary session he chaired on August 5 was legally and procedurally valid under the legislature’s internal regulations.
In a formal letter, Nazem al-Saadi, Director of Al-Mandalawi’s office, cited Article 35 (First/A) of the Council’s bylaws, which authorizes the First Deputy Speaker to assume the duties of the Speaker, including convening and presiding over sessions in the latter’s absence or inability to perform his role.
The document explained that Speaker of Parliament Mahmoud Al-Mashadani left the chamber “in violation of Article 24” of the same bylaws, and that the session had been delayed for more than three hours. In line with Articles 23 and 24, and with a quorum of 199 lawmakers present, the session was opened and conducted lawfully.
Al-Saadi further noted that attendance was confirmed through an official form prepared by the Department of Public Relations and Parliamentary Protocol, signed by the session’s rapporteur.
“Therefore, we affirm that the procedures for convening Session No. 4, the quorum it achieved, and the decisions taken during it are all legally sound and compliant with parliamentary regulations,” the statement concluded.
The clash between the two officials escalated into broader confrontations among MPs, with disagreements erupting over the session’s agenda and governance.
In a written rebuttal, Speaker al-Mashhadani rejected the session’s validity, invoking Article 34 (Second), which reserves the power to convene and lead sessions solely to the Speaker unless officially absent or incapacitated. He insisted he had remained in the building and had not authorized anyone to act on his behalf.
Calling the events a “clear violation” of parliamentary procedure, al-Mashhadani declared the session null and void. “What is built on a void is void,” he wrote, arguing that no session may proceed in his absence without written authorization.
