Iraqi Parliament to elect new Speaker on Thursday

Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, the Iraqi Parliament published the agenda for Thursday's session, which is dedicated to electing a new Speaker to succeed Mohammed al-Halbousi, whose term has expired for nearly a year.

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.