The Iraqi Council of Representatives’ Presidency announced on Friday that it had received a request from over 50 representatives to convene an extraordinary session on Saturday. The purpose of the session is to complete the council’s legislative and oversight tasks.
The Presidency has stated that the request for a session is based on Article 58 of the Constitution. The article allows the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or a Council member to invite the House of Representatives to an extraordinary session. The meeting will be limited to the topics that necessitated the invitation.
A representative of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan bloc, Sarwa Muhammad, announced that the House of Representatives will vote on amending the Independent High Electoral Commission law at the end of next week. She also confirmed that parliamentary sessions will continue to be held, with Mohsen Al-Mandalawi serving as the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament. The announcement was made on Thursday.
Muhammad stated that following the Federal Court’s decision to terminate the membership of Muhammad al-Halbousi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, more than 50 signatures were collected to convene an extraordinary session for the first reading to amend the High Electoral Commission law.
“Yesterday, Wednesday, the First Vice President of the House presided over a parliamentary session to conduct the first reading of the draft amendment to the Commission Law. According to the internal regulations of the House of Representatives, the First Vice President of the House is responsible for presiding over the parliamentary sessions.”
Mohammad confirmed that there will be additional sessions next week, led by First Deputy Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, to discuss the second reading of the amendment to the High Elections Commission law and to read and vote on a number of laws.
During a recent announcement, she stated that the House of Representatives will vote at the end of next week on amending the law, which includes extending the work of the Council of Commissioners for a period of six months. This will happen after the second reading of the amendment to the Commission Law. Following this, Parliament will enter the legislative recess.
“In conclusion, she stated that the legislative recess of the House of Representatives will provide an opportunity for Sunni parties and blocs to hold discussions and reach a consensus on selecting a candidate for the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives.”
In contrast to the deposed Muhammad Al-Halbousi, the “Al-Hasam” coalition presented three candidates for the position of Speaker of Parliament on Friday.
The coalition announced three representative candidates: Talal Al-Zubaie, Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani, and Salem Al-Issawi.
The “Hasm” coalition consists of all Sunni forces in Baghdad, except for the “Taqaddum” coalition led by the deposed Speaker of the House of Representatives, Muhammad al-Halbousi, and the “Azm” coalition led by Khamis al-Khanjar.
The coalition comprises four Sunni leaders, including Osama al-Nujaifi, former Speaker of Parliament, Jamal al-Karbouli, head of the Al-Hal Party, Rafi’ al-Issawi, former Finance Minister, Defense Minister Thabet al-Abbasi, and other Sunni political leaders.
On Tuesday, November 14, the Federal Supreme Court terminated Speaker of the House of Representatives Muhammad al-Halbousi’s membership due to a “forgery” lawsuit filed by Representative Laith al-Dulaimi.
During the House of Representatives session following the court’s decision, Al-Halbousi cautioned against those who aim to divide society’s political components.
Jassem Muhammad Abboud, the head of the Federal Supreme Court, which is the highest judicial authority in Iraq, stated on Thursday that the decision to terminate the membership of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Muhammad al-Halbousi, is binding on all authorities and cannot be legally challenged.
