Iraqi parliament postpones session over committee leadership disputes

Shafaq News- Baghdad (Updated at 17:20)

Iraq's parliament postponed Thursday's session until further notice amid disagreements among political blocs over the leadership of parliamentary committees, as lawmakers called for a two-week delay to reach a comprehensive agreement.

Ali al-Azirjawi, a lawmaker from the State of Law Coalition, told Shafaq News that parliamentary bloc leaders had asked Parliament's leadership to postpone the session rather than proceed with votes on some committee chairmanships while leaving others unresolved.

"There is currently no agreement among bloc leaders on settling the leadership of standing parliamentary committees separately," he said, adding that the blocs wanted all committee appointments approved as a single package.

Al-Azirjawi said the blocs had requested a two-week postponement to allow further negotiations and reach an agreement on all committee leadership positions.

Separately, Parliament's media office announced in a brief statement that Thursday's session had been postponed until further notice, without specifying a new date.

Earlier on Thursday, parliamentary blocs submitted nominees for the chairmanships and deputy leadership posts of 16 committees, according to an official document obtained by Shafaq News.

The document listed nominees for key committees, including Finance, Legal Affairs, Integrity, and Oil and Gas, while four committees remained without agreed candidates: Security and Defense, Foreign Relations, Human Rights, and Border Crossings.

A parliamentary source had earlier told Shafaq News that political blocs had reached a preliminary understanding on 15 of 20 proposed standing committees, with disputes continuing over five chairmanships, including Finance, Oil, Integrity, Security and Defense, and Electricity.

Parliament approved amendments to its internal rules on February 17, establishing 22 standing committees, and voted on the membership of 11 committees on March 11. Subsequent negotiations have included proposals to reduce the number of committees to 20 by merging some and establishing another.