BAGHDAD —
Iraq’s parliament will meet Thursday to “elect the president”, speaker Mohammed
Al-Halbussi’s office said, in a surprise move seen as trying to end months of
political impasse.
اضافة اعلان
The oil-rich
country has yet to form a new government after general elections more than a
year ago, and the parliament has already made three failed attempts this year
to elect a new head of state, in February and March.
Halbussi’s office
said Tuesday that the parliamentary session in two days’ time would have “a
single item on the agenda, the election of the president of the republic”.
Iraqis last voted
on October 10, 2021 in a general election brought forward by a wave of mass
protests against endemic corruption, rampant unemployment and decaying
infrastructure.
Ahead of
Halbussi’s announcement, the
UN mission had urged political factions to end the
deadlock, warning that “Iraq is running out of time”.
Iraq’s rival
Shiite Muslim political factions have been vying for influence and the right to
select a new premier and form a government, with Prime Minister Mustafa
Al-Kadhimi left in charge in a caretaker capacity.
The standoff has
seen both sides set up protest camps, and at times has sparked deadly street
clashes in
Baghdad.
‘Stifling crisis’
On one hand is the fiery cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr, who wants parliament
dissolved and new elections.
On the other sits
the Coordination Framework — an alliance of pro-Iran Shiite factions including
former paramilitaries — that wants a new government before fresh elections are
held.
Tensions boiled
over on August 29 when more than 30 Sadr supporters were killed in clashes with
Iran-backed factions and the army in Baghdad’s Green Zone, the capital’s
fortified government and diplomatic district.
On August 30,
current President
Barham Saleh urged “new, early (general) elections in
accordance with a national consensus”, saying these could provide “an exit from
the stifling crisis”.
The largely
honorific post of Iraqi president is traditionally reserved for a Kurd.
It generally goes
to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), while the
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) keeps control over the affairs of autonomous Kurdistan in northern Iraq.
But the KDP is
also eyeing the presidency and could present its own candidate on Thursday.
There are
currently two obvious contenders: the PUK’s Saleh, the incumbent, and current
Kurdistan Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed of the KDP.
‘Escalation’
Sajad Jiyad, researcher at think tank Century International, said he
expected a quorum — 220 deputies out of the 329 in parliament — to be reached
and for the vote to go ahead.
But he said much
depended on whether the PUK and KDP could compromise.
“Has the
(Coordination) Framework managed to convince the PUK and the KDP to come to an
agreement?
“Will there be one
candidate? Will it be Barham? Or two candidates, Barham and someone the KDP backs?”
he said.
Political
scientist Ali Al-Baidar said the PUK’s Abdul Latif Rashid, a former water
resources minister, was a potential consensus candidate.
He pointed to the
Coordination Framework’s recent “accelerated action to end the crisis and take
the reins of power again”.
Once parliament
elects a new president, that person must then designate a prime minister, who
is chosen by the largest coalition in parliament.
Jiyad said that if
a president were elected, the likely candidate for premier would be Mohammed
Shia al-Sudani, the Coordination Framework’s choice for the post.
With the
government formation moving ahead, “the Sadrists are not likely to be happy”,
Jiyad said.
“Maybe they will
encourage protests and prepare for the next elections.”
Baidar said he
thought the Sadrists would give their green light in exchange for “a certain
number of ministries” in the new government, including key portfolios.
However, he warned, the
other scenario would be “escalation”.
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