The State of Law Coalition says there is a growing political push to take back key executive positions from the Progress Party, following what it called a betrayal by Mohammed al-Halbousi of earlier political agreements.
Former MP Arif al-Hamami told the Information Agency that political circles are seeing active moves to collect signatures, both in Parliament and at the local level, to remove the head of the Baghdad Provincial Council, Ammar al-Hamdani, who is a member of the Progress Party. He said this comes after the party’s leader opposed Nouri al-Maliki’s candidacy and ended the partnership with the State of Law Coalition.
Al-Hamami said gaining senior positions and then turning against political partners shows a clear lack of credibility. He stressed that al-Halbousi only reached the position of Speaker of Parliament thanks to strong and decisive support from the Coordination Framework, which backed him during the election session.
He added that the State of Law Coalition played a key role in clearing the way for al-Halbousi, including putting pressure on his rival, Muthanna al-Samarrai, to withdraw from the race. According to al-Hamami, the recent political shift by the Progress Party will not go unanswered, and efforts are now underway to reclaim positions that were granted under a partnership that has since been broken.
