Most MPs will reject al-Halboosi's "untimely" resignation, Emtidad MP says

Shafaq News/ A member of Emtidad's bloc said that the Iraqi parliament will reject incumbent speaker Mohammad al-Halboosi's resignation, dismissing the move as fuel for the ongoing political crisis in Iraq.

In a statement to Shafaq News Agency, lawmaker Kadhem al-Fayyadh said that al-Halboosi's resignation is "unrealistic". 

"Most lawmakers, even those who are independent, lean toward declining his s resignation," he said, "the resignation's timing is inconvenient amid the current political impasse and the relentless efforts to form a new government."

"It will only add insult to injury," he elaborated, "even the lawmakers who are not big fans of al-Halboosi believe that this is not the perfect time for the speaker's resignation or dismissal." 

Al-Halbousi is slated to submit his resignation on Wednesday, the copy of the Iraqi legislative body's agenda showed yesterday.

It comes after nearly a year of political deadlock that followed a bitterly disputed election result and mounting violence.

A document obtained by Shafaq News Agency says lawmakers will vote on al-Halboosi's resignation.

Analysts and Iraqi politicians say the move may actually serve as a vote of confidence, should the parliament vote that he must remain in office.

At 41, he is one of the youngest leaders on Iraq's fragmented political scene. Al-Halbousi's Taqqadum (Progress) party made significant gains in last October's election, and his alliance with powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani would have put him in a strong position in talks on forming a government.

But the process has repeatedly stalled after a coalition of mainly Iran-linked parties, the Coordination Framework, unleashed a torrent of legal and political challenges against al-Sadr, whose coalition won significantly more seats than them.

Al-Sadr has since withdrawn his representatives from the legislative body in an act of protest, leaving his allies in the trilateral coalition to find new allies.

Tomorrow's session will be the first after a weeks-long hiatus, but the reason for al-Halbousi's resignation is unclear.