"To the unknown," this is the least that can be said about the process of electing a new speaker for the Iraqi parliament. Despite the council's extension of its first legislative session for an additional thirty days, Sunni-Sunni disagreements and differing views among the leaders of the Shiite blocs under the "Coordination Framework" regarding the nominated names for the position and the hand that will grasp the parliamentary gavel are intensifying. The position of Speaker of the House is reserved for the Sunnis according to the political custom in Iraq since the establishment of the political system after 2003, while the positions of Prime Minister go to the Shiites and the President to the Kurds.
The parliament has failed in four attempts to elect a replacement for Al-Halbousi due to the lack of consensus on a single candidate, amidst Sunni fragmentation and the Coordination Framework's insistence on nominating new figures or retaining Mohsen al-Mandalawi, the first deputy speaker, as acting speaker. Currently, three Sunni candidates are competing for the position: Salem Al-Eisawi, who received 97 votes during the first session held in January, Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani, who garnered 48 votes, and Talal Al-Zabidi, who received one vote.
In this regard, the Coordination Framework, which unites the Shiite political forces, has confirmed that there is no political agreement on the election of the Speaker of the House this week, while pointing out the reality of the Taqaddum Party's support for the nomination of Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani or Talal Al-Zabidi. MP Thaer Al-Jubouri from the Coordination Framework stated that "the disagreements among the Sunni political forces are still deep, and there is no agreement among them to resolve the election of the Speaker; no agreement can be reached among the political blocs to hold a session to elect the president without a Sunni consensus."
He added that "talk of support for the Taqaddum Party in nominating Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani or Talal Al-Zabidi is merely media leaks to gauge the situation, and the Taqaddum Party has not been informed during discussions and negotiations of such an idea or proposal. Therefore, the conflicts continue, and there is no agreement to resolve the position within this week."
For its part, the Taqaddum Party, headed by Muhammad Al-Halbousi, has revealed the reality of any inclination to support one of the candidates for the presidency of the House, Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani or Talal Al-Zabidi, to distance Salem Al-Eisawi from the position. Party leader Muhammad Al-Alawi mentioned that "all options are on the table for the Taqaddum Party, but so far, work is being done to achieve the main goal of amending the internal regulations of the House of Representatives to present a candidate from the party; if this goal is not achieved, the next Speaker of the House will be chosen by Al-Halbousi."
Al-Alawi clarified that "there is a great likelihood of amending the internal regulations of the House of Representatives, and we are in contact with the Shiite coordination framework, where there is responsiveness from some parties within the framework. Therefore, it is possible to amend the regulations and present a new candidate representing the Taqaddum Party for the presidency of the House."
He concluded by stating that "supporting a figure for the presidency of the House from one of the Sunni candidates is an option that may be on the table, but so far, there is no such inclination. Our political and parliamentary work is focused on amending the internal regulations, and nothing else."
