Iraq sets Saturday as date to elect new parliament speaker

The Iraqi Parliament has set Saturday as the date for holding a special session to elect its new Speaker of Parliament, amid continuing disagreements between the Sunni political parties over the candidates for this position.

The crisis in choosing the speaker of the new parliament has entered its sixth month, with the position left vacant after a judicial decision was issued by the Supreme Court in mid-November 2023 to dismiss former speaker Mohammed Al-Halbousi and terminate his membership following his conviction for forgery.

Mohammad Al-Alawi, a member of Al-Halbousi’s Taqadum Party, said his party now backs the Sadara parliamentary bloc’s Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani to be assigned the role.

“Al-Mashhadani is greatly supported by the Coordination Framework forces and other Kurdish and even Sunni political parties from outside Taqadum, and that is why we expect that he will progress during next Saturday’s session. We reiterate that it is not possible to proceed with the election of any figure as Parliament speaker without being supported by Al-Halbousi,” he continued.

Leader of the Azm coalition, Azzam Al-Hamdani, said that the party believes that “Saturday’s session will be decisive in electing the Speaker of Parliament. There is a political consensus to resolve this issue next week. The position of the Sunni component cannot remain vacant any longer, as this affects political powers and balances in state administration.”

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