The new Speaker of Parliament is the one who convinces the framework that he has the majority

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[size=52]The new Speaker of Parliament is the one who convinces the framework that he has the majority[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad/ Tamim Al-Hassan[/size]
[size=45]A marathon was launched in Baghdad to convince the coordinating framework of who has the Sunni majority and thus secured the position of Speaker of Parliament, vacant from last year. So far, the Shiite forces seem divided in deciding the affiliation of the new Speaker of Parliament between; Majority candidate and political ally. Recently, Muhammad al-Halbousi, the expelled Speaker of Parliament, became alone in competing for the position against three Sunni forces, after the defection of Khamis al-Khanjar.[/size]
[size=45]A few days ago, the Federal Court returned MP Shaalan al-Karim, Al-Halbousi’s candidate, after it rejected Shiite appeals to nominate him for the presidency of Parliament.[/size]
[size=45]Yesterday, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, leader of the “Frame” and acting Speaker of Parliament, visited the President of the Court, Jassam Al-Amiri.[/size]
[size=45]Last week, the court postponed the pronouncement of the ruling on another appeal submitted by Al-Halbousi’s team, in a session held two months ago to choose the Speaker of Parliament, due to violations, until the beginning of next April.[/size]
[size=45]According to an official statement, Al-Mandalawi and Al-Amiri agreed on “the necessity of resolving constitutional obligations and expediting the election of a speaker for the House of Representatives.”[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, Muhammad al-Halbousi made a rare visit to Qais al-Khazali, the leader of Asa’ib and a rising player in “Al-Taram,” who is believed to have great influence on the coalition and the government. During the meeting, Al-Khazali stressed “the necessity of accelerating the selection of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, given the special importance this site represents, in order to strengthen the legislative institution to complete its tasks.” According to a statement from the latter’s office.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Halbousi stressed, according to the statement, “the importance of maintaining the political majority in deserving this position, while noting national acceptability, for the purpose of achieving political stability in the work of the House of Representatives.” The statement reveals the disagreement within the Shiite group, according to a leader in “Al-Atar” who spoke to (Al-Mada), between those who call for assigning the position to “the owner of the Sunni majority,” most notably Hadi Al-Amiri, the leader of the Badr Organization.[/size]
[size=45]The other party is represented by Nouri al-Maliki (the State of Law coalition) and to some extent Khazali, who prefer “the ally to the majority.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Halbousi, the leader of “Taqadum,” has about 44 seats in Parliament, while his competitors, namely “Hasm,” led by Defense Minister Thabet Al-Abbasi, and “Azm,” led by MP Muthanna Al-Samarrai, and recently joined by Khamis Al-Khanjar (Sovereignty), may together constitute fewer seats than “Taqadum.” .[/size]
[size=45]The Shiite leader, who requested that his name not be published, says: “There is a fear of breaking the rule of the majority in the presidency,” which is what the Shiites defended during the government crisis in 2022, when the Sunnis and Kurds supported Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the Sadrist movement, which the “Framework” considered at the time to represent “ Shiite minority.”[/size]
[size=45]In contrast to this opinion, the leader points out that “other parties within the framework believe that choosing a candidate from the allies, who is Al-Halbousi’s competitor, may ensure calm in Parliament and the implementation of the government’s program.”[/size]
[size=45]The crisis ignited when the judiciary decided last November 14, a few weeks before the last local elections, to terminate Muhammad al-Halbousi’s membership in Parliament, due to a fraud case.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Mandalawi, the first representative, replaced Al-Halbousi, and at that time the Shiite coalition began to control parliament and the government, and the “framework” hinted that it might keep Al-Mandalawi until the end of the session.[/size]
[size=45]Last month, representatives close to the PMF said that they would break a quorum in any session to choose the Speaker of Parliament, and keep Mandalawi, in response to the Sunnis’ boycott of a session about American forces.[/size]
[size=45]Shaalan Al-Karim had received the highest votes in the first round of the session dedicated to choosing the Speaker of Parliament, which was held last January, before the dispute escalated within the “framework” and they were forced to create “deliberate chaos” to adjourn the session.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Shaalan was subjected to a defamation campaign and accusations of “Baathism” and “ISIS” against the backdrop of the conflict within the Shiite alliance and the shaking of the agreement between parties from the “Frame” with Al-Halbousi’s competitors, before the court refused to exclude him.[/size]
[size=45]Mutual accusations[/size]
[size=45]Two days ago, Al-Halbousi accused other Sunni parties of paying bribes to lure a number of representatives to the opposing camp, an accusation that the opposition had previously made against a progressive leader.[/size]
[size=45]Mishaan Al-Jubouri, the former MP, claimed that Al-Halbousi’s team gave $100,000 to every representative who voted for Al-Karim.[/size]
[size=45]As a result of these accusations, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi formed an investigation committee in Parliament, but the results have not been presented yet.[/size]
[size=45]In Al-Halbousi's final response, he called on the government and the judiciary in a statement to stop the buying and selling auction, which harmed the political process, not to remain silent about these behaviors that are not befitting of the country, and to open a high-level investigation.[/size]
[size=45]He said about the meeting of competing forces that: “They do not have a majority of the Sunni component in the House of Representatives, and the sieve of falsification cannot change the established truth of the majority of the Sunni component represented by progress.”[/size]
[size=45]Last Saturday, the Sunni political forces (with the exception of Taqadum) announced the continuation of procedures for electing the Speaker of Parliament from among the previous nominated names, considering that appeals in the Federal Court will not affect the session. Ihsan Al-Shammari, professor of public policy at the University of Baghdad, says about the last meeting that “it was expected in light of the delay in choosing a new speaker for Parliament.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Shammari points out in an interview with Al-Mada that “the data may not be in Al-Halbousi’s interest if the latter team is able to form a majority, especially since the Shiite actors may agree to grant the position to the majority.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Shammari confirms that “the state of polarization of representatives by Al-Halbousi’s competitors continues, and they may be able to achieve a majority, and then the Shiites and Kurds will decide the name of the candidate due to the convergence of the candidates’ votes.”[/size]
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