Deadline to select new Iraq prime minister set to lapse once more

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Rivalries between parliament’s biggest blocs, the confirmation of an unsurprising nomination for prime minister from the Bina Coalition, and a fruitless search for answers by Iraqi President Barham Salih mean a looming deadline to select a new premier will likely be extended once more.

Following months of popular protest, Iraq’s parliament accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi on December 1, just over a year after he took office.

A constitutionally decreed 15-day deadline for the appointment of a new prime minister to form a new government lapsed on Thursday, amid wrangling over potential candidate by Iraqi political parties. The constitutional deadline to choose a new prime minister was extended to midnight on Sunday.

Iraq’s parliament has been dominated by two blocs since parliamentary elections in May 2018. Both are dominated by Shiite parties, but also contain smaller, Sunni allies.

The Bina Coalition is composed of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition, the Iran-backed Fatih Coalition, and the Sunni National Axis Alliance, among others.

Rivalling Bina is the Islah Coalition, led by firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s Nasr Coalition is part of Islah.

No explicit response

Article 76 of Iraq’s constitution grants the biggest bloc in parliament the right to nominate a prime ministerial candidate. President Salih wrote to the Supreme Federal Court on Thursday to determine which parliamentary bloc is biggest.

The court did not name a bloc in its response.

“The concept of the biggest parliamentary bloc ,mentioned in Article 76 of the Constitution denotes either the bloc that formed via one electoral list following elections, or the bloc that gets formed from two or more electoral lists following elections, entered the Parliament, and its seats became bigger than the rest of the blocs following gentry to the Parliament and its members swearing the oath in the first session,” the Court explained.

Salih then sent an official letter to Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi for an answer. His letter was published by state media outlet al-Iraqiya on Sunday.

In the letter, Salih claimed both Islah and Bina had sent him letters on December 3 and December 18 respectively, declaring themselves to be the biggest bloc.

The president also referred to an initial letter he sent to parliament on December 2, a day after Abdul-Mahdi’s resignation, to make the same inquiry. Parliament skirted around the naming of one of either Bina or Islah.

Instead, parliament said that whichever bloc nominated Adil Abdul-Mahdi as prime minister – an independent candidate with no affiliation to any parliamentary bloc, chosen by all major parliamentary groups as a candidate of compromise – was the biggest.

In Sunday’s letter, Salih once more called on parliament to name the biggest bloc.

“The difficult circumstances that our homeland is faring through necessitates us to accurately deal with constitutional, national entitlements, in a manner that preserves the unity of it [Iraq] and the safety of its children,” the President said in his letter.

“Based on what has already been mentioned in light of parliamentary bylines, we ask that you express your opinion on the biggest bloc that is relevant to nominating the Prime Minister,” he added.

Bina candidate named

The Bina Coalition on Saturday announced that it had sent its candidate for prime minister to President Salih. They did not name their chosen candidate in the announcement.

However, Qusay Abdulwahab Suhail, current Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, was speculated as being the likely candidate.

In a tweet following the announcement of the unnamed candidate, Sadr addressed both Bina and Suhail, warning they must “respect the will of the people.”

A letter, whose authenticity was confirmed on Sunday by a source from the Iraqi Presidency and Bina MP Moukhtar Mahmoud, shows Bina nominating Suhail for the premiership.

The letter expresses “full endorsement and full support for Mr. Dr. Qusay Abdulwahab Suhail" on the grounds of his “high professionalism and outstanding administrative qualifications, in addition to his integrity and his prominent leadership personality.”

An anonymous source from the Iraqi Presidency office told Rudaw English that Suhail has been touted as a candidate for premiership by the President himself for some ten days.

Endorsers of Suhail include the State of Law and Fatih coalitions, national security adviser Falih al-Fayyadh’s National Contract party, and Parliament Speaker Halbousi’s Alliance of Iraqi Forces.

Sayirun alliance leader Sadr, former PM Abadi, and Hikma Movement leader Ammar al-Hakim have expressed their opposition to his candidacy.

Protesters still dissatisfied

It is unlikely Bina, Islah or any political bloc can propose a candidate for prime minister who will gain the protesters’ seal of approval.

Iraqi protesters have rejected the appointment of any prime ministerial candidate who is part of the current political establishment. They demand the “old class” ruling the country since the toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003 leave power to make way for a new Iraqi politics.

Iraqi protesters have dismissed the appointment of any prime ministerial candidate who is part of the current political establishment. Videos of protesters rejecting Suhail’s nomination have already emerged on social media.

MP Mahmoud told Rudaw the midnight on Sunday deadline to appoint a new prime minister will once again be extended.

“This has been postponed to Wednesday,” he said.

Deadline to select new Iraq prime minister set to lapse once more

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