Selecting Iraqi Parliament Speaker: Tuesday or post-local elections?

Shafaq News / The State of Law Coalition and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) commented today, Saturday, on the issue of a political agreement to elect a new Speaker of Parliament next Tuesday.

Thaer al-Jubouri, a deputy from the State of Law Coalition, told Shafaq News Agency, "So far, there has been no official notification from the Parliament's presidency to hold any session soon to elect the Speaker of Parliament, especially since the Parliament is currently on a legislative break, and convening a session requires the signatures of 50 deputies." He emphasized, "There have been no signatures collected so far."

Al-Jubouri explained, "There is no agreement among the political blocs to hold any session during the current week. According to all indications and information, the election of a new Speaker of Parliament will take place after the provincial council elections. There is difficulty in holding any session currently due to the legislative break and the engagement of deputies and blocs in campaign activities, especially with the elections approaching."

On the other hand, Sabah Subhi, a representative from the KDP Bloc, told Shafaq News agency, "The Sunni blocs have submitted a request to the Parliament's presidency to convene an emergency session on Tuesday to elect a new Speaker for the council."

He clarified that the Parliament's presidency has not declared its position yet nor officially set a date for electing the council's Speaker.

He indicated that the Sunni blocs have not reached an agreement on a candidate for the new Speaker of the council. If the Coordination Framework does not agree to hold the session at the current time, the legal quorum for its convening will not be met, and the session to elect the Speaker of Parliament will be postponed until after the elections.

Earlier, a political source revealed that the Coordination Framework, gathering the Shia political forces, had set a timeline to choose a replacement for the ousted Speaker, Mohammed al-Halbousi. The fFamework only selected three candidates for the position.

It is noteworthy that the Iraqi Parliament Presidency officially ended the membership of Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, following the Federal Supreme Court's decision, effective November 14, 2023.

The Federal Supreme Court, the highest judicial authority in Iraq, announced on Tuesday, November 14, the termination of the parliamentary membership of Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi. This came as a result of a lawsuit filed by MP Laith al-Dulaimi, accusing al-Halbousi of falsifying his (al-Dulaimi's) resignation from the parliamentary membership. Consequently, the Federal Court ruled to terminate their memberships (al-Halbousi and al-Dulaimi).