Sunnis are divided over electing a speaker for Iraq's parliament, according to regional media reports.
Iraq’s top leadership is divided along sectarian lines: The president is Kurdish; the prime minister is usually Shi’ite; the speaker of parliament, a less important position, is Sunni.
In general, this means the Shi’ites are the strongest player in Iraqi politics, sidelining the other groups.
After the November elections, there are questions about who will be the prime minister and the speaker.
“Sunni divisions complicate the process of electing the Speaker of Parliament in Iraq,” UAE-based news site Al-Ain News reported.
“Developments are accelerating on the Iraqi political scene as the parliamentary session to elect the Speaker of Parliament and his two deputies approaches, amid growing differences within the Sunni blocs that have reshuffled the cards of the existing political understandings,” the report said.
Rudaw Media Network, a news channel in the autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq, reported: “Sunni blocs in Iraq may enter parliament with two competing candidates for speaker as the legislature prepares to convene the first session of its sixth term on Monday, Sunni politicians said on Sunday.”
“Sunni parties met on Sunday to decide whether to rally behind a single nominee or proceed with rival bids split between the Taqaddum Party, which backs its leader and former speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, and the Azm Alliance, which insists on its leader, Muthanna al-Samarrai,” the report said.
Prior to the election, the Azm Alliance’s candidate, Safaa Al-Mashhadani, was assassinated.
A swearing-in ceremony for the 329 newly elected members takes place this week, and a vote for speaker is expected, Rudaw reported.
“Mohammed Daham, an Azm Alliance leader and designated spokesperson for Sunni parties, told Rudaw on Sunday before the meeting that it ‘will be decisive in every sense,’” the report said.
It appears that the Taqaddum Party prefers Halbousi.
“The process for the Speaker’s post is heading toward having two candidates in any case, and it is impossible to reach a consensus on a single candidate,” Rudaw quoted a source as saying. “The Azm Alliance is firm on its candidate, Muthanna al-Samarrai, and there is no change in that decision.”
Sunni alliances form National Political Council
“In November, leaders of the Sunnis’ four main alliances and political forces announced the formation of a National Political Council, aimed at unifying Sunni positions during negotiations over the next government,” the report said.
The Shi’ite parties conduct themselves in a similar manner with a coordination framework that unites many of their groups.
Al-Ain News reported: “These moves are intertwined with broader consultations among the main political forces, where the coordinating framework and the Kurdish forces play a prominent role in tipping the scales in favor of any of the candidates, amid efforts to avoid a parliamentary paralysis scenario.”
It appears that some figures have withdrawn from the Sunni race. Khamis al-Khanjar, whose Sovereignty Alliance Party has 14 seats, isn’t running, the report said.
“MPs Salem Matar Al-Issawi and Ziad Al-Janabi have officially announced their withdrawal from the Sovereignty Alliance, in protest against the decision-making mechanism within the alliance, particularly regarding the nomination of MP Hebat Al-Halbousi for the position of Speaker of Parliament,” Al-Ain News reported.
“The Azm Alliance reiterated its position rejecting any retreat from nominating its leader, Muthanna al-Samarrai, for the position of Speaker of Parliament, stressing that he is the alliance’s only candidate,” the report said, adding that “amid this escalating division, Saud al-Janabi, a member of the media office of the Al-Azm Alliance, told Al-Ain News that Muthanna al-Samarrai is preparing to hold an important press conference in the next few hours to clarify the official and final position of the Al-Azm Alliance regarding the session to elect the Speaker of Parliament.”
What matters here is that Iraq is still struggling to find new leadership after the elections. The relative chaos and weakness among the Sunni Arab parties is a reflection of their continued diminished status in Iraq over the past two decades following the fall of Saddam.