Amid his rivals' objection, Al-Halbousi leads a movement to make Al-Anbar the capital of Sunni decision
Shafaq News / Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al-Halbousi, supported by his Takadum Party, led a political movement to bolster Al-Anbar's position and make it the " capital of Sunni political decision", in a similar fashion to Najaf and Erbil for Shiite and Kurdish components.
According to officials, Al-Halbousi's party will be contesting for 30 parliamentary seats of the constituency seats in the Sunni areas - cities in the north and west of the country.
Leaders of Sunni political blocs in Saladin and Nineveh, in particular, reject Al-Halbousi's efforts, deeming it as an attempt to "marginalize" them in the race for the so-called "Sunni leadership".
Local officials in Al-Anbar told Shafaq News agency, "Al-Halbousi directed the acceleration of the construction of guest houses, the Al-Anbar International Hotel on the Euphrates River, the Al-Anbar International Airport, as well as the construction of a new administrative city on the outskirts of Ramadi. This is part of the project to strengthen the governorate's position as a maker of Sunni political decision".
One of those officials clarified, "The project is almost complete, and Al-Anbar needs only two years to accomplish it. It can be said that whether Al-Halbousi gets a second term in parliament or not, the project will exist because Al-Anbar is more recovered than any other Sunni governorate, and the militias have no influence on its decision –unlike Nineveh and Saladin. Al-Halbousi is in the process of winning seats in Nineveh, Saladin, and Baghdad's belt, and that is worrying his Sunni partners".
"Al-Anbar is of clear geographical and political importance, accounting for one-third of Iraq, associated with three countries, represents a cohesive social and tribal fabric, as well as linked to seven governorates, and all these advantages boosted its reconstruction campaign quickly and intensively. The governorate has experienced political, economic, and security stability since its liberation", Yahya Al-Mohammadi, a member of the Coalition of Iraqi Forces, told Shafaq News agency.
For his part, Misha'an Al-Jubouri, a former MP of Saladin governorate, stated, "for the sake of Justice and by the standards of the Sunni component's capital, Mosul should be the capital because of its cultural and historical weight".
He also added, "The active movement of the Parliament speaker, his political alliances, and his attempts to make Al-Anbar the capital of the Sunni component are temporary - because he is now speaker of parliament and the visits of decision-makers came for this reason, unlike Mosul, which is far from the capital Baghdad and the southern governorates".
"Tikrit is also witnessing visits by many officials. Does that make it a capital of decision?", Al-Jubouri wondered.
Al-Anbar's Governor Ali Al-Dulaimi told Shafaq News agency, "The political situation in the governorate has recently changed, especially since the speaker of parliament is from Al-Anbar".
