Sunni blocs push for “final” deal on Iraq’s parliament speaker
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Iraq’s Sunni political forces have set Saturday as a decisive deadline to agree on a nominee for parliament speaker, seeking to resolve the post before the first session of the new legislature.
Faisal Al-Issawi, a lawmaker from the Al-Azm Alliance led by Muthanna Al-Samarrai, told Shafaq News on Thursday that the National Political Council—a body bringing together Sunni parties that won seats in the recent elections—will hold its “final meeting” to bridge differences and unify behind a single candidate.
If talks fail, he explained, the council will submit two candidates to the opening parliamentary session: former speaker Mohammed Al-Halbousi and Al-Samarrai. “In that case, members of parliament would decide the post by vote, with the winner required to secure an absolute majority of at least 169 votes.”
Al-Issawi added that settling the speakership would likely clear the way for decisions on the remaining top offices, including the presidency and the premiership.
The Council had previously failed to agree on a nominee, leaving the post unresolved days before the constitutionally mandated December 29 first session.
On December 14, Iraq’s Federal Supreme Courtratifiedthe final results of the parliamentary elections, a step that formally opens the path for the next legislative term. Under the constitution, parliament must elect a speaker and two deputies within 15 days of ratification. The president must then be elected within 30 days of the first parliamentary session, followed by the designation of a prime minister within 15 days. The prime minister-designate is required to form a cabinet within 30 days.
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Under Iraq’s post-2003 power-sharing system, the premiership is allocated to a Shiite Arab, the speakership to a Sunni Arab, and the presidency to a Kurd.
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