An old deal announced in today’s parliament session to end Al-Halbousi’s ambition to head the Counci

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[size=52]An old deal announced in today’s parliament session to end Al-Halbousi’s ambition to head the Council[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad/ Tamim Al-Hassan[/size]
[size=45]Muhammad al-Halbousi, the dismissed Speaker of Parliament, unwittingly contributed to completing a “Sunni-Sunni” deal that had been stalled for nearly a year to control the House of Representatives. Al-Halbousi is now officially outside Parliament after his deputy, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, issued an order terminating his membership. Al-Halbousi's chances began to decline as he maintained the position of Speaker of Parliament by choosing an alternative deputy, with his opponents and allies together approaching a coup against him.[/size]
[size=45]Numerically, the opposition team can comfortably decide the round of selecting the Speaker of Parliament, with the vote of the coordinating framework, which has the highest seats, tipped in favor of the first camp.[/size]
[size=45]On Monday evening, Parliament decided to open nominations for the position of Speaker of Parliament before amending the schedule for Wednesday’s session to “elect the Speaker of Parliament.”[/size]
[size=45]Today's session includes, in addition to selecting Al-Halbousi's replacement, a vote on amending the election law to extend the mandate of the Commission, according to a document published by the council's media.[/size]
[size=45]The coordination framework was concerned about the failure to extend the life of the Commission, which means the possibility of postponing the local elections. In light of this, information indicates that the Shiite coalition secretly intervened in the recent crisis in an attempt to secure today’s session to amend the election law.[/size]
[size=45]According to information that reached Al-Mada, an agreement is imminent between Khamis Al-Khanjar, leader of the Sovereignty Alliance, which includes Al-Halbousi’s (Taqadum) party, and the latter’s opponents.[/size]
[size=45]So far, the agreement includes the nomination of Salem Matar Al-Issawi, the representative who previously defected from Taqadum but remained within the Sovereignty Alliance.[/size]
[size=45]In addition to Al-Issawi, the old names are still present, the most prominent of whom are Muthanna Al-Samarrai and Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani from the opposition team.[/size]
[size=45]And Ziad Al-Janabi, from the Al-Halbousi Party, along with Shaalan Al-Karim, whose name was recently proposed, and he is the head of the Sovereignty Bloc in Parliament.[/size]
[size=45]The agreement between the Sunni forces - with the exception of Al-Halbousi - was hampered by the hesitation of Jamal Al-Dari, head of the National Project Party, who is one of the supporters of the sacked Speaker of Parliament.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Dari's position is not known exactly after the recent developments, but there are reports of a meeting between Al-Khanjar and Al-Halbousi prior to the parliament session scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Halbousi's case had entered a serious stage when Parliament published a document to terminate the latter's membership, and demanded that the Commission replace his seat.[/size]
[size=45]Issa Sayer Al-Issawi, who is the highest loser in the Al-Halbousi district in Anbar (the first district), is supposed to replace him. The first had received more than 5,000 votes in the last elections. The stalled deal against Al-Halbousi dates back about a year ago, when Mishaan Al-Jubouri, the dissident MP, revealed the “progress” of what his comrades were planning. The crisis exploded due to statements by Al-Halbousi, when he said that the current year 2023 would be decisive for the political pledges based on which the government was formed.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Halbousi then threatened, in an interview that took place at the end of last year, to leave the political process if these pledges were not implemented, and the statement was considered embarrassing to the Shiite framework. Al-Halbousi, according to political sources, was threatened because of his alignment with Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of the Sadrist movement, before the formation of the current government.[/size]
[size=45]Sources at the time expected that Al-Halbousi, due to his alliance with Al-Sadr, would be subjected to “punishment” after the Shiite alliance took control of the government. Al-Halbousi tried to obtain political support when he demanded last year to restore confidence in his presidency of Parliament, and the Shiites voted in his favour. But the crisis escalated again with a series of withdrawals that took place within Taqadum, due to accusations that Al-Halbousi was a “dictator.”[/size]
[size=45]Before that, a major split occurred within what was known as the Azm Alliance, when Muthanna Al-Samarrai withdrew the name and left alone, while Al-Halbousi and Khanjar remained in the Sovereignty Alliance.[/size]
[size=45]After Al-Halbousi’s dismissal of MP Laith Al-Dulaimi and then the defection of Raad Al-Dahlaki, Mishaan Al-Jubouri said that Khaled Al-Obaidi, the MP and former Minister of Defense, and Salem Al-Issawi may be one of them instead of the Speaker of Parliament. Last May, Al-Jubouri revealed in a television interview what he described as “a new meeting of the sovereignty coalition without Al-Halbousi.”[/size]
[size=45]According to what Mishaan revealed, Al-Khanjar will have left Al-Halbousi and will join the other team that will pave the way for changing the Speaker of Parliament.[/size]
[size=45]According to what Al-Jubouri, the MP expelled from Parliament, claimed at the time, the new alliance offers the Shiite alliance an temptation to be an alternative to Al-Halbousi, as it “will understand all the demands that the coordination framework cannot implement until the displaced people of Jurf Al-Sakhr return,” which is one of the most important demands of the Sunni forces. The Shiite alliance views Al-Halbousi with suspicion, while Nouri Al-Maliki, a prominent leader in the coordination framework, accused Al-Halbousi of infiltrating the coalition meetings.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Maliki stated in one of the leaked recordings attributed to him, which was known at the time as “WikiLeaks Al-Maliki,” that “the Shiites are in danger, because the Baathists have now risen to dangerous ranks, entered the core of the state, and established parties under the title (Taqaddum), which is led by Muhammad al-Halbousi, an old party.” It was created by one of the figures, but he died, and Al-Halbousi took over it after him.”[/size]
[size=45]In addition, Ziad Al-Arar, an academic and researcher in political affairs, said in an interview with (Al-Mada) that “the coordination framework will not vote on an alternative candidate for Al-Halbousi before the Sunni forces agree.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Arar believes that there is difficulty in passing the Taqadum Party’s candidate, while the other party “is allied with the coordination framework and can obtain the majority votes.” The new Speaker of Parliament needs an absolute majority vote, according to Article 55 of the Constitution, (half of the total number of the House of Representatives plus one), which means at least 166 votes, while the Shiite seats alone are 180 seats.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Arar adds: “Al-Halbousi did not remain friendly with anyone, and his party became alone, while Muthana Al-Samarrai (head of the Azm Alliance), who is closest to the position, will receive the votes of the framework, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, and the votes of most of the other Sunni forces.”[/size]
[size=45]The researcher in political affairs expects that the Al-Halbousi Front will witness “withdrawals in favor of Al-Samarrai’s team,” which will reduce the chances of any candidate to advance. Regarding Prime Minister Muhammad Al-Sudani’s rejection of the resignation of the three Taqaddam Party ministers, Al-Arar believes that it is part of efforts to calm the situation.[/size]
[size=45]Yesterday, the resigned ministers (planning, industry, and culture) attended the cabinet session, just hours after the Sudanese decision.[/size]
[size=45]Yesterday morning, Minister of Culture Ahmed Al-Badrani held a conference at the ministry’s headquarters, in which he announced a return to work.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Arar says about these developments: “It appears to be a political agreement, after the sudden dismissal of Al-Halbousi, as promises were made not to prosecute the latter or open any files.”[/size]
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