Huqooq bloc joins boycott of Iraq presidential election session
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq’s Huqooq (Rights) parliamentary bloc, the political wing of Kataib Hezbollah armed group, boycotted the presidential election session on Saturday, rejecting “implicit” political agreements linking the vote to the selection of a prime minister.
The bloc’s six lawmakers withdrew from the session, a move that does not affect the required quorum of 220 out of 329 members.
Speaking at a press conference, MP Hussein Moanes, the bloc's head, stressed that the bloc had conditioned its attendance on the absence of any prior arrangements over naming a prime minister-designate, adding that “what we observed today contradicts that understanding.” He described the reported coordination between some factions on both the presidency and premiership as unclear and unacceptable.
MP Mohammed al-Hassnawi explained that the decision reflects opposition to entrenched political practices, particularly informal deals shaping government formation. He underlined that the bloc would not endorse processes that “reproduce failure,” calling instead for transparency and a clear path toward forming the next government.
Parliament convened earlier today with 223 lawmakers present to elect a president from 16 candidates, surpassing the constitutional quorum. The vote is a prerequisite to naming a prime minister under Iraq’s post-2003 power-sharing system, which allocates the presidency to a Kurd, the premiership to a Shiite, and the speakership to a Sunni Arab. The process has stalled for months due to disputes between the two main Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), over a joint candidate, as well as internal disputes within the Shiite Coordination Framework, which nominated former PM Nouri al-Maliki but remains split over his candidacy amid reported US opposition.
Several factions —including the KDP, the State of Law Coalition, and the Al-Azm Alliance— also boycotted the session, arguing that proceeding without prior political consensus violates power-sharing norms, while other blocs —including the National State Forces Alliance, the Taqaddum Party, the PUK, the Reconstruction and Development Coalition, Sadiqoon, and the Iraqi Turkmen Front— insisted on holding the session as scheduled.
Read more: Iraq’s April 11 presidential vote: Who will attend?
