SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The first session of Iraq’s newly elected parliament resumed on Sunday evening after it was adjourned due to disputes between the Shia parties.
The Iraqi Council of Representatives opened its first session on Sunday, preparing the way for lawmakers to put a new government in place.
The session chaired by eldest lawmaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani was adjourned due to disputes between Shia parties, including the Sadrist Movement and the Coordination Framework.
The Coordination Framework includes State of Law Alliance, al-Fateh Alliance, Ata Movement, National Forces Alliance, Haquq Movement and Fadhila party.
Mashhadani was also transferred to hospital due to the deterioration of his health condition following the dispute between the Shia parties, according to Iraqi media.
The dispute occurred after the Coordination Framework submitted signatures of 88 lawmakers to register it as the largest bloc in the Iraqi parliament.
The Sadrist Movement, led by Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, won nearly a fifth of the seats in the October parliamentary election – 73 out of the assembly’s total 329.
The Taqqadum Party, which draws support from minority Sunni Muslims, won 37 seats, according to the final results released by the electoral commission.
Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Alliance won 33 seats, the results showed. A distant second with 17 seats was the al-Fateh Alliance, the political arm of Hashid al-Shaabi.
Since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled minority Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein, Iraqi governments have been dominated by parties from the Shia majority, in coalitions that have included Kurdish parties.
The Sunni parties of Taqqadum and al-Azim agreed on Saturday to re-nominate Mohammed al-Halbousi as their candidate for the position of the parliament’s speaker.
The Shia parties have yet to reach an agreement on the formation of the largest bloc.
Even though the Coordination Framework led by Hadi al-Amiri and Nouri al-Maliki called on the Sadrist Movement to form the largest bloc with the group, Sadr on Saturday insisted on a “national majority government”.
The Coordination Framework includes State of Law Alliance, al-Fateh Alliance, Ata Movement, National Forces Alliance, Haquq Movement and Fadhila party.
Both sides have held several rounds of talks in the past weeks, but have yet to strike a deal on the new cabinet.
According to officials from both sides, the Sadrist Movement wanted a national majority government while the Coordination Framework preferred a consensus government.
Last week, leader in the Coordination Framework Wail Rukabi said the group would form the largest parliamentary bloc if talks with Sadr failed.
“The Coordination Framework is the largest bloc with 90 seats and will form the government in the event that Sadr rejects a coalition with the group,” Baghdad Today quoted him as saying.
A joint delegation from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has been in Baghdad since Friday to discuss the formation of a new government with the Iraqi parties.
It separately met with the Sadrist Movement, the Coordination Framework and Sunni parties of Taqqadum and al-Azim,
Harem Kamal Agha, a member of the delegation, said there was understanding between the two Kurdish parties regarding the posts belonging to Kurds in the new cabinet.
“We have agreed to not become part of the issues between the Shia, but to find a solution,” he told Esta Media Network.
“The formation of a new government will delay because the Shia parties are still split,” he said.
“After the lawmakers swear in, the parliament’s session will remain open until an agreement is made on the posts.”
