SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Sadrist Movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr arrived in Baghdad on Saturday, as parliament has so far failed to hold a session to select a new president due to a lack of quorum.
The Iraqi Council of Representatives was set to hold a session at 11 a.m. to elect a new president in a presidential race between 40 candidates.
However, parliament’s legal quorum has yet to be reached as only 180 lawmakers from the Sadrist Movement, part of Sunnis, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the New Generation attended the session.
As many as 220 members of the Iraqi Council of Representatives are required for parliament to be able to hold the session.
Esta Media Network reporter said Shia cleric Sadr had arrived in Baghdad to discuss the parliament’s session and the selection of a president.
Separately, the Coordination Framework including other Shia parties were meeting in the house of Nouri al-Maliki, leader of State of Law coalition, to discuss the latest developments, according to Iraqi media.
Meanwhile, Bafel Jalal Talabani who has been in Baghdad since Friday held a meeting with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) bloc.
Parliament has issued a final list of 40 candidates for the post, a largely ceremonial role reserved for the Kurds.
PUK candidate Barham Salih will contest KDP’s Rebar Ahmed, a candidate for Save the Nation alliance between the Sadrist Movement, part of Sunnis and the KDP.
Lack of a quorum – two-thirds of the house’s 329 members – and legal issues have held up the vote, deepening was scarred Iraq’s political uncertainty.
The president has to then name a prime minister, who must be backed by the largest bloc in parliament.
Politicians and analysts believe the Iraqi parliament would fail to hold the session due to a lack of quorum and disagreements between the parties.
Even if the election goes ahead as, “it will not be decided from the first round,” in which the winner needs a two-thirds majority, AFP quoted political analyst Ihsan al-Shammari as saying.
The candidate with most votes would run uncontested in a second-round ballot but would again need to secure a two-thirds majority.
