Divisions emerge in Iraq’s parliament ahead of Speaker vote
Shafaq News– Baghdad
Divisions have surfaced within Iraq’s Council of Representatives ahead of the first parliamentary session scheduled at 12:00 pm on Monday, raising the prospect of an uncoordinated vote on the election of the speaker and two deputies, a parliamentary source said on Monday.
The source told Shafaq News that several lawmakers from various political blocs, particularly within the Shiite Coordination Framework, do not intend to adhere to voting directives issued by party and bloc leaders, “a move that could lead to fragmented voting during the session.”
He said the split extends beyond parliament to the Sunni National Political Council, with rival positions emerging over the speakership. Some factions back Haibet al-Halbousi, while others support Muthanna al-Samarrai.
According to the source, competition is also intensifying over the post of first deputy speaker, particularly within the Framework. Contenders include Yasser al-Maliki of the State of Law Coalition, Adnan Faihan of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Babil Governor Muhsen al-Mandalawi, and Ahmed al-Asadi, a candidate of the Reconstruction and Development Coalition and Iraq’s current labor and social affairs minister.
“The race for the second deputy speaker position is limited to two candidates: Shakhwan Abdullah of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and Rebwar Karim of the Al-Mawqif bloc,” the source added, noting that a majority of lawmakers appear inclined to renew confidence in Abdullah.
Today’s sixth-term parliament is scheduled to convene with the agenda limited to administering the constitutional oath to newly elected lawmakers and electing the speaker and two deputies. The election of the parliamentary leadership formally opens the constitutional process of government formation, a stage that has been preceded by weeks of negotiations among Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish blocs without a final agreement.
Under Iraq’s post-2003 political arrangement, the speakership is customarily held by a Sunni Arab, the first deputy speaker by a Shiite Arab, and the second deputy by a Kurd, a power-sharing formula that has shaped parliamentary politics since 2003.
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