Iraqis are looking towards the parliamentary session scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, to choose a new president for the republic, without the Kurdish political forces reaching a final agreement to vote for a single agreed-upon candidate, and the two main Kurdish parties clinging to their candidates.
Parliament Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi confirmed that Saturday's session would proceed as scheduled. He also stressed the importance of fulfilling this constitutional obligation and ending the political deadlock, given the security and economic challenges facing the country.
In an official statement, he called on the leaders of the political blocs to “assume their responsibilities in completing the constitutional requirements and forming a government capable of facing the challenges.”
First Deputy Speaker Adnan Faihan agrees with Al-Halbousi’s confirmation regarding the convening of the session to elect the President of the Republic, noting that there is a “parliamentary consensus” on making it a success.
He stated in a statement to the government agency that “everyone is working to ensure the success of the session to elect the President of the Republic, which will be held tomorrow, Saturday, and to provide the necessary quorum for this important session,” indicating that “the session will conclude the constitutional entitlement that many of the Iraqi people are waiting for.”
He added that “this entitlement has been delayed due to the ongoing events and the lack of political understandings,” noting that next Saturday “there will be a session, and we hope that the quorum will be complete to elect the President of the Republic.”
More than 220 members of parliament sided with the parliament's leadership when they requested in late February that a special session be held to elect the president of the republic.
State of Law Coalition MP Duha Laibi described tomorrow's session as "an important opportunity" to push the political process towards stability.
Duha Laibi, a member of the State of Law coalition, considers tomorrow’s session to be an “important opportunity” to push the political process towards stability, and described it as a key milestone for measuring the progress in understandings between political forces.
In a press statement prior to the session, she said that “there is a keenness from various parties to proceed with the constitutional requirements,” noting that “the success of the session depends on completing the agreements in a way that ensures achieving a quorum and proceeding with the procedures.”
She explained that “the presidency is an important constitutional entitlement and must proceed as quickly as possible,” noting that “the nature of the political system in Iraq is based on consensus, which makes coordination between blocs a key factor to ensure that this entitlement is completed smoothly and enhances political stability.”
The Iraqi constitution gave political forces a maximum of 30 days to choose the president of the republic, starting after the election of the new speaker of parliament, but they exceeded that constitutional period by more than 100 days.
In every new parliamentary term, Iraqis have become accustomed to the violation of the constitutional deadlines for selecting the three presidencies (the presidency of parliament, the presidency of the republic, and the presidency of the prime minister), as a result of the political struggle over the division of positions among the winning parties, according to the quota system that has prevailed since 2003, or “consensus” as the leaders of the influential parties prefer to call it.
The prevailing political custom in Iraq after the US forces overthrew Saddam Hussein’s regime is to grant the presidency of the republic to the Kurds, in exchange for dividing the presidencies of the government and parliament between the Shiites and Sunnis in order.
Once the Sunnis succeeded in securing their largest share in the “new session,” it was the Kurds’ turn to determine their presidential candidate, in a highly complex task, as it is linked to “Kurdish-Kurdish” entitlements there in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, related to the formation of the Kurdish government, which has also been stalled for more than a year and a half.
Danar Abdul Ghaffar, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party bloc in the federal parliament, points to the “lack of agreement” so far between the two Kurdish parties on a candidate for the presidency, while calling for a political agreement on the positions of the presidency and the prime Minister,” calling on “all political blocs to agree on the position of President of the Republic and Prime Minister in order to form a strong government capable of meeting the challenges.”
He continued: “We in the Kurdistan Democratic Party have been clear from the beginning, and we call on the Kurdish blocs to agree on one candidate so that there will be a Kurdish consensus on him because he represents the Kurds and does not represent one party.”
As for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party, led by Bafel Talabani, the son of the late President Jalal Talabani, it is banking on its relationship with political forces, specifically the Shiite “coordination framework,” to vote in favor of its candidate if it fails to reach an agreement with its rival, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
Sarwa Mohammed Rashid, a member of the “Union” bloc in the federal parliament, confirmed that the presidential post is her party’s share, noting that more than 229 MPs have signed a petition to hold a session to elect the president.
She explained in press statements that “there are upcoming meetings between the Kurdish parties to decide on the name of the final candidate for the position of President of the Republic,” stressing that “the position is the share of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, and it is in safe hands.”
She added that “Nizar Amidi has extensive experience, and he is the only candidate of the Patriotic Union for this position,” noting that “regional tensions and the lack of agreement between political blocs have contributed to the delay in forming the Iraqi government.”
In addition to the “Kurdish-Kurdish” dispute and the outbreak of the American-Israeli war against Iran, the “veto” of US President Donald Trump on the “coordination framework” candidate for forming the new government, Nouri al-Maliki, remains the most prominent obstacle in the way of choosing the president of the republic.
A number of scenarios await tomorrow's anticipated session, most notably "failure to convene" and the breaking of its legal quorum.
The new president was scheduled to task the candidate of the “largest parliamentary bloc” with forming the new government, in the same session in which he was chosen, according to a prior plan by the leaders of the “framework”.
A number of scenarios await tomorrow’s anticipated session, most notably “failure to convene” and breaking the legal quorum, or convening with an agenda “devoid of the item on choosing the president,” or convening and choosing a new president for the republic and assigning the “framework” candidate to form the government.
All options allow the political forces to take additional time to make their decision, unlike proceeding with the last scenario, which puts the Shiite “framework” face to face with the American administration, in the event of clinging to Maliki for a third term, and not proposing a “consa was zzzzzzzaZxensual” alternative for the position.
