On Saturday, Iraqi MP Mukhtar al-Youssef said there was a “suspicious move” behind the sudden call for a parliamentary session scheduled for Monday.
He explained that members of the State of Law Coalition, along with other political groups, decided to withdraw their support for the session. According to him, this step was taken to block what they see as an attempt to give Mohammed Shia al-Sudani a second term in a way that goes against prior agreements.
Al-Youssef said the sudden announcement of the session—which aims to elect a president and assign a prime minister—raised serious concerns. He claimed it was part of a plan led by blocs like Progress Party and others to go against the decision of the Coordination Framework.
He added that the Coordination Framework had already agreed on backing Nouri al-Maliki, who leads the State of Law Coalition. Because of this, any attempt to change direction now is seen as a political maneuver.
In response, he said, several groups quickly pulled back their support for the session to stop what they believe is an effort to bypass agreements and push through a different outcome.
Al-Youssef also made it clear that, because of these withdrawals, the session is unlikely to reach the required quorum needed to proceed.
He ended by calling on all parties within the Coordination Framework to settle on one final candidate before the session. In his view, this is the only way to prevent confusion, avoid political pressure from outside groups, and respect both the election results and the agreed political process.
