The selection of the Speaker of Parliament is frozen until after the Hajj ends

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[size=52]The selection of the Speaker of Parliament is frozen until after the Hajj ends[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad/ Tamim Al-Hassan[/size]
[size=45]From today, members of the House of Representatives will begin traveling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, while they will leave the issue of choosing the Speaker of Parliament pending until after the Eid holiday, at the end of next June.
It is likely that more than 70 representatives will go to Hajj this year in seats reserved for officials, out of 39,000 Iraqi pilgrims within the 2024 plan.[/size]
[size=45]This comes at a time when accusations have escalated from Sunni parties about “deliberate disruption” of the session to elect the Speaker of Parliament due to the “greed” of Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, the acting Speaker of the Council, for the position.[/size]
[size=45]These parties believe that the crisis that broke out after the overthrow of former Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi is a conflict between two Shiite parties in which the Sunnis used “tools for competition.”[/size]
[size=45]More than half a year has now passed without Parliament being able to choose an alternative to Al-Halbousi, while the coordinating framework seems to want to continue its control over the Council through Mandalawi, until the new financial budget is passed.[/size]
[size=45]In a session held two weeks ago, the Sunnis almost voted in favor of Salem Al-Issawi, Khamis Al-Khanjar’s candidate for the position of Speaker of Parliament, before it turned into a boxing ring between a number of representatives.[/size]
[size=45]But Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani, the other candidate for the position from Al-Halbousi, is now demanding that the session be repeated due to an “error in counting the votes.”[/size]
[size=45]Parliament was preparing to hold a third round to decide the vote for the presidency of Parliament between Al-Mashhadani and Representative Salem Al-Issawi, before Representatives Muthanna Al-Samarrai and Haibat Al-Halbousi were beaten.[/size]
[size=45]None of the candidates obtained the necessary votes to assume the position (165 votes), as Al-Issawi was close to winning by only 7 votes.[/size]
[size=45]It is believed that a meeting of the Shiite Alliance, which preceded the session to select the Speaker of Parliament, put together a plan to “disperse the votes” and keep the position in the hands of Al-Mandalawi, according to some leaks.[/size]
[size=45]In that session, Mohsen al-Mandalawi, the acting president and leader in the “Framework,” stipulated that another session be held by “agreeing on one candidate” for the position, while controversy prevailed over the legality of this demand.[/size]
[size=45]Following Al-Mandalawi’s latest position, a leaked message from the WhatsApp group written by Khamis Al-Khanjar, head of the Sovereignty Party, ignited the atmosphere between the two parties.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Khanjar said in a message he sent through a group called “Anbar Governorate/Sovereignty Party,” that “it has become clear that the main reason for obstructing the election of a Sunni Speaker of the House of Representatives is greed and usurpation of the position that represents more than 15 million Iraqis.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Khanjar added: “We need a strong media campaign and declared positions from you as representatives of the Sunnis through tweets and statements (...) demanding that the framework and the Kurdish forces hold the session this week to elect the president of the council, meaning we forget the Sunni differences and focus on Al-Mandalawi and those who stand with him to exploit this position.”[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, the Al-Asas Alliance, led by Al-Mandalawi, responded to the accusations against the acting Speaker of the Council, and denied that the latter held the position.[/size]
[size=45]The coalition said, “The chaos (referring to the recent parliament session to choose the speaker of parliament) is behind a political leader who incited a number of his followers against Al-Mandalawi on social media,” without mentioning his name.[/size]
[size=45]The statement added, “Deputies from Azm (headed by Representative Muthanna Al-Samarrai) and Al-Sayyada are launching a campaign against Al-Mandalawi and describing him as (obstructive), which is a clear transgression against the acting head of the legislative authority.”[/size]
[size=45]Representative Muhammad Nouri, who is close to Al-Mandalawi, also considered that what Khamis Al-Khanjar issued was “worthless and does not deserve a response,” referring to the recent leaked message.[/size]
[size=45]Nouri pointed out that “Al-Khanjar used highly sectarian language in his message against Al-Mandalawi.”[/size]
[size=45]Video clips showed Al-Mandalawi using inappropriate language against MP Ahmed Al-Jubouri, against the backdrop of the quarrel that broke out in the last session.[/size]
[size=45]Mustafa Sanad, a representative close to the coordination framework, said in a television interview that he knew what Al-Jubouri would do, and pointed out that he informed Al-Mandalawi before the incident.[/size]
[size=45]Sanad believes that Muhammad al-Halbousi is the owner of the largest Sunni bloc and is the most deserving of the presidency of Parliament.[/size]
[size=45]The position of the last representative reflects the conflict within the coordination framework over which Sunni party will obtain the position: the largest in number or the allies.[/size]
[size=45]This division within the Shiite alliance was justified until recently, before Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, supported by Nouri al-Maliki, leader of the State of Law, merged with al-Halbousi.[/size]
[size=45]But changes occurred in the last meeting before the session to select the Speaker of Parliament, which led to the representatives voting individually on the candidates, and the goal, according to the leaks, is for the “Framework” to remain in control of Parliament.[/size]
[size=45]File of the Speaker of Parliament to Saudi Arabia![/size]
[size=45]A prominent leader in the Taqaddam Party, which Al-Halbousi leads, says that the selection of the Speaker of Parliament has now been suspended until the end of next month.[/size]
[size=45]The leader, in contact with (Al-Mada), and requesting that his name not be mentioned, pointed out that “the file will be frozen until the representatives return from performing the Hajj.” The leader confirmed that about 80 deputies will head tomorrow (today) to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, even after the Eid holiday, which falls at the end of next June.[/size]
[size=45]Every season, dozens of representatives and officials travel to perform Hajj, with seats reserved for those with the highest ranks in the country.[/size]
[size=45]This year's Hajj coincides with Parliament's discussion of the 2024 budget schedules, as the coordinating framework objects to reducing allocations to the governorates.[/size]
[size=45]Faisal Al-Issawi, a former MP from Anbar, said in a call with Al-Mada: “If the legislative recess ends, the issue of choosing the Speaker of Parliament will be postponed for a long time.”[/size]
[size=45]The legislative recess is supposed to begin next June, as Parliament had extended its work on May 9 for a month to discuss the budget.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Issawi points out that “the positions are still the same since the last parliament session, and there are no solutions yet in the issue of electing the Speaker of Parliament.”[/size]
[size=45]Leaks had talked about a plan for all candidates to withdraw from the position until other names were nominated, but these proposals are now on hold until after the Hajj ends.[/size]
[size=45]Meanwhile, Representative Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani called on the Presidency of Parliament to form an investigative committee regarding the session to select the Speaker of the House of Representatives.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Mashhadani said, according to a document published in a number of media outlets, that the request comes to verify the results of the vote, after detecting an error in counting the votes.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Mashhadani failed twice to obtain votes to compete for the position of Speaker of Parliament, while it appears that the coordination framework has been abandoned after the last session.[/size]
[size=45]Sunni decision[/size]
[size=45]In addition, the leader of the Al-Hasam Alliance, Atheel Al-Nujaifi, said that there is no longer a “Sunni decision” after the recent events that took place in the session to choose the Speaker of Parliament. Al-Nujaifi added in a call with Al-Mada: “There is a serving of interests between competing Shiite parties and weak Sunni parties that derive their strength from their Shiite allies.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Nujaifi pointed out that there were attempts by Sunni parties, which he described as “neutral,” to find an understanding between the candidates for the position of Speaker of Parliament, but he stressed that these efforts “fell on deaf ears.”[/size]
[size=45]The leader in Hasm described the current competition in the issue of the Speaker of Parliament as “between two Shiite parties, each of which has a different point of view on the election law and the way to gain power more than its competitor.”[/size]
[size=45]He stated that these parties “want to exploit their Sunni allies as tools in this competition.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Nujaifi pointed out that the matter is not limited to Al-Mandalawi in his desire to control the presidency of the Council: “Rather, he represents one of the two sides of the Shiite competition. The matter will be resolved when one of the parties achieves victory over the other.”[/size]
[size=45]As for the situation of Sunni representatives, Al-Nujaifi said: “They will continue to orbit their allies until at least the next elections.”[/size]
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