Mahmoud al-Mashhadani stands firm on Speaker candidacy, urges swift parliament session

Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a candidate for the position of Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, confirmed his commitment to remain in the race, dismissing rumors of his withdrawal.

Al-Mashhadani Posted on X, "To end the political deadlock and complete the process of electing a Speaker of Parliament, which is a national duty, I reaffirm my candidacy for the position. The rumors about my withdrawal are baseless."

He further clarified, "I deny affiliation with any political bloc and declare I am a candidate for the national space. I urge the political blocs to convene a parliamentary session as soon as possible to fulfill this national responsibility following the constitution and the law."

On August 14, the Al-Azm coalition, led by Muthanna al-Samarrai, and the Assiyada coalition, led by Khamis al-Khanjar, announced their support for al-Mashhadani's candidacy for Speaker of Parliament.

In a joint statement, the coalitions said their decision was in response to efforts by the Shiite Coordination Framework and the Kurdistan Democratic Party to resolve the issue of electing a Speaker in adherence to the Federal Court's ruling and to avoid constitutional violations.

This development comes after six Sunni parliamentary forces announced on August 13 that they would nominate a new candidate, replacing the ousted Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, asserting that they hold a parliamentary majority.

The six parties—Taqaddum, National Masses (Al-Jamaheer Al-Wataniyah), National Determination (Al-Hasm Al-Watani), Al-Sadara, Iraqi National Project, and Al-Mubadara—issued a joint statement, indicating that they had reached an agreement on a candidate for Speaker of Parliament.

According to information obtained by Shafaq News, the candidate agreed upon by the six forces is Ziyad al-Janabi, a close associate of al-Halbousi.