Ministers and deputies affiliated with the "Taqaddum" party, led by Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi, have decided to resign from their positions and boycott meetings of the State Administration Coalition, parliamentary sessions, and the political process. The party's statement reads, "After more than a full year since the formation of the current government, we have adhered to all political agreements and the paper on which the government was established, which emerged from the State Administration Coalition formed to support the presidencies, the government, and institutions and adopt the country's political decision. This coalition is responsible for implementing political agreements and ensuring all institutions comply with the constitution and laws."
The statement added, "Despite all the targeting events that have occurred over this year, we chose along with our communities to be patient and adhere to the political agreements to achieve political and social stability and to meet the people's aspirations for a free and dignified life and to lift injustice from the oppressed. However, we were surprised by the decision of the Federal Court today, which we find to be a blatant constitutional breach and a clear political targeting."
The statement continued, "The party's leadership and its deputies met after the announcement of the decision to terminate the membership of Parliament Speaker Muhammad Reikan al-Halbousi, and after discussing the matter, we decided the following: to boycott the meetings of the State Administration Coalition; resignations of party representatives in the federal government, including: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning Muhammad Ali Tamim, Minister of Industry and Minerals Khalid Battal Najem, Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Antiquities Ahmed Fakak al-Badrani; resignations of party representatives from the presidencies and deputy presidencies of parliamentary committees; and political boycott of the party's Members of Parliament during parliamentary sessions."
The Federal Supreme Court ruled yesterday, Tuesday, to terminate the membership of Muhammad al-Halbousi and Deputy Lyth al-Dulaimi. Al-Halbousi commented on the decision to end his membership, considering it a "strange" decision, stating, "There are those who seek to fragment social components."
For his part, Deputy of the Coordination Framework, Karim Aliwi, commented on selecting the new President of the Iraqi Parliament according to specific criteria. He stated that "the selection of the new Speaker of Parliament should be based on specific specifications and standards, the most important of which are competence and activity, and should have good and positive relations with all political parties to coordinate positions for parliamentary work in both legislative and oversight aspects."
He confirmed that "the Parliament needs a new president who is active in activating important laws for their legislation, in addition to enhancing the Parliament's oversight role by activating the interrogation files submitted to the council's presidency, as this role has been largely stalled over the past period."
The conflict that erupted between Muhammad al-Halbousi and a council member named Lyth al-Dulaimi is considered the main reason for his dismissal, as al-Dulaimi resorted to the Federal Court after al-Halbousi decided to dismiss him from his position in the Parliament, which led the Federal Court to finally remove both of them from their parliamentary roles.
It seems that the dismissal of al-Halbousi from his parliamentary membership and presidency will keep the battle of political conflicts open until a solution is found for the dilemma of finding a replacement, currently focused on choosing a national figure free from suspicious financial deals that, according to observers, are what placed Muhammad Reikan al-Halbousi in the chair of legislative power for two consecutive terms.
