Shiite leader blames Sunni parties for the delay in selecting a new speaker

Shafaq News/ Iraq's political deadlock over the selection of a new speaker of parliament dragged on Monday, with prominent Shiite politician Mohammad al-Baldawi placing the blame squarely on the Sunni blocs.

"The political blocs view the presidency of the parliament as an entitlement for a specific bloc or alliance, rather than recognizing it as the highest body of the legislative and supervisory authority in the country," al-Baldawi, a leader in the Coordination Framework, told the Shafaq News agency.

He attributed the main obstacle to the lack of agreement among Sunni factions and" Sunni factions only", traditionally expected to nominate the speaker according to the country's power-sharing formula.

"The primary responsibility for not choosing a new speaker lies with the Sunni blocs, which were supposed to agree on a candidate for this position," he elaborated.

In the absence of a unified Sunni nominee, multiple candidates participated in a recent parliamentary vote, including Shaalan al-Krayyem from the Taqaddum bloc who received the most votes but fell short of the majority needed to win.

Al-Baldawi suggested that the legal challenge presented by the Taqaddum bloc, seeking to invalidate the previous vote due to concerns surrounding al-Kuraim's statements on Saddam Hussein, has also contributed to the delay.

He said that the Coordination Framework urged the "Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish" blocs to nominate alternative candidates to placate concerns raised by other factions.

Last week, the Iraqi parliament failed to elect a new speaker to replace the sacked speaker al-Halbousi due to political wrangling among parliamentary political blocs.

The parliament session began on Saturday afternoon and was chaired by Mohsen al-Mandalawi, the first deputy of the parliament speaker, with the attendance of 314 lawmakers out of the parliament's 329 seats and continued until the early hours of Sunday, according to a statement issued by the parliament.

During the session, al-Mandalawi announced that he had received nominations from five lawmakers for the speaker post. After a direct secret ballot, Shaalan al-Krayyem garnered 152 votes, followed by Salim al-Eisawi with 97 votes and former speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani with 48 votes.

According to Iraqi law, if a candidate for the speaker post fails to gain an absolute majority of parliament seats, which is 50 percent plus one, or 166 votes, another round of direct secret ballot is held for the competing candidates.

However, a source in the parliament, who requested anonymity, said that the lawmakers failed to hold a second round following a dispute that continued into the late hours, which prompted al-Mandalawi to adjourn the session.

On Nov. 14, 2023, the Iraqi federal court ruled to terminate the tenure of Iraq's Parliament Speaker Mohammad al-Halboosi due to legal violations following the controversial resignation of Laith al-Dulaim