Muthanna Al-Samarrai enters race for Iraqi Speaker
Shafaq News– Baghdad
Azm Alliance leader Muthanna Al-Samarrai announced on Sunday his candidacy for the post of speaker of the Iraqi parliament, entering a contest with Haibat Al-Halbousi after Sunni political forces failed to agree on a single nominee.
Al-Halbousi’s candidacy emerged during a press conference held by Sovereignty Alliance (Al-Siyada) leader Khamis Al-Khanjar, who confirmed that the bid has the backing of the Sovereignty Alliance, the Taqaddum Party led by Mohammed Al-Halbousi, the National Resolve Alliance (Al-Hasm Al-Watani) headed by Defense Minister Thabet Al-Abbasi, and the National Masses Alliance (Al-Jamaheer Al-Wataniya) led by MP Ahmed Al-Jubouri.
Al-Samarrai told reporters that the Sunni National Political Council (NPC) formation was based on an agreement among the winning forces to take all decisions by consensus, adding that any nomination announced without such agreement “does not represent the will of the council,” in reference to Al-Halbousi’s bid.
He indicated that the nomination he described as natural reflects the position of certain parties within the council, rather than the political council itself.
Earlier today, the NPC agreed to nominate MP Haibet Al-Halbousi following consultations among Sunni political forces.
Iraq’s parliament is scheduled to hold the first session of its sixth legislative term on December 30, during which newly elected lawmakers will take the constitutional oath and elect the speaker and two deputy speakers.
Read more: Iraq’s Parliament Speakership vote: Stress test ahead of Dec. 29
Under political conventions in place since 2003, the post of parliament speaker is allocated to a Sunni lawmaker, the first deputy to a Shiite, and the second deputy to a Kurd.
Who is Muthanna Al-Samarrai?
Born in 1974 in the city of Samarra in Saladin province, Muthanna Abdul Sattar Fadhel Al-Samarrai holds a degree in engineering and spent several years working in the private sector before entering politics.
He rose to prominence during the Sunni political realignment that followed the 2018 parliamentary elections and later assumed leadership of Al-Azm, positioning the alliance as a rival to Mohammed Al-Halbousi’s Taqaddum bloc. In the 2025 parliamentary elections, his party won 15 seats.
