May 18. (EUROPA PRESS) –
This Saturday the Iraqi Parliament tried again without success to elect its president in a session that was finally postponed after intense discussions and tensions that even resulted in violence between deputies.
The session has been suspended without a resumption date after debates between the Sunni-majority Siyada bloc and the Taqadum bloc led by Mohamed al Halbusi’s Progress Party. Siyada has proposed Salem al Isawi and Taqadum to Mahmud al Mashadani.
The leaked recordings recorded by the deputies themselves show heated debates, insults and physical confrontations between members of the Progress Party and deputies from other parties.
“When the vote reached 190 deputies, the representatives of Taqadum raised a chain between the seats and the tribune,” denounced one of the leaders of Siyada, Mishan al Yuburi. “Taqadum MP Haibat al Halbusi attacked Muthana al Samarrai, leader of the Azm bloc, so MP Ahmed al Yuburi hit Haibat,” he added.
Before these incidents, Taqadum had asked to change the regulations of Parliament to avoid a possible victory for Al Isawi in the third vote, which provoked protests from the rest of the groups.
Finally Al Isawi obtained 158 favorable votes, while Al Mashadani remained at 138 with a view to a third and final round, so Al Mashadani and his allies asked to postpone the vote.
Al Halbusi ceased to be President of Parliament on November 21, 2023 following a court ruling that his mandate expired and since then Parliament has been unable to agree on a successor. On January 13, he was close to achieving it, but the exchange of insults and violence between deputies finally led to the postponement of the session, just like this Sunday. It was the fifth attempt to appoint a president, whose validity is key to the approval of important laws.
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