ERBIL, Kurdistan Region -- Iraq’s top Sunni parties on Saturday nominated former parliamentary speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi for a second term in the position a day ahead of the new parliament’s first session. Both Taqadum, a Sunni alliance headed by the former speaker of Iraqi parliament Halbousi and Azm Alliance, led by Khamis al-Khanjar, met on Saturday to agree on a candidate for the parliamentary speaker position. A statement from Taqadum said that both parties agreed on Halbousi as their candidate for the position, while Khanjar was elected leader of the Sunni bloc. According to a long standing agreement, the three main leadership positions in the Iraqi government are divided among Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis. Whereas, Kurds get the presidency, Shiites get the premiership, and Sunnis get the parliamentary speaker. As the new parliament is set to meet on Sunday, the two largest Sunni parties, Taqadum with 37 seats and Azm with 14 seats, are most likely to pass their candidate forth as the parliamentary speaker. According to Article 54 of the Iraqi constitution, when the election results are confirmed, it sets in motion a process for the winning parties to form a government. Within 15 days of the ratification of the results, the president calls on the parliament to meet, chaired by its eldest member, and elect a speaker and two deputies by an absolute majority during its first session according to Article 55. The parliament also elects a president from among candidates by a two-thirds majority. The president then tasks the largest bloc in the parliament with forming the government, naming a prime minister within 15 days of the election of the president. The prime minister-elect then has 30 days to name a cabinet. Previously, there were rumors that Taqadum would pair up with the Sadrist bloc, which won 73 seats of the legislative body. However, on December 14, both Azm and Taqadum announced the formation of "a unified negotiating delegation… to negotiate with the rest of the partners," thus cutting off the path for Halbousi to join the Sadrist bloc alone. Other Shiite players have called on both Sunnis and Kurds not to interfere with Shiite affairs and side with any particular party. “The interference of the Sunni powers (Azm and Taqadum) or Kurdish parties in the benefit of a specific bigger side will lead to the destabilization of the country,” reads a statement from Abu Ali al-Askari, a representative of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah on Saturday.
