An update on the speakership race

Parliament is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to vote on the new speaker to replace Mohammed Al-Halbusi. There are only two credible candidates left in the race but divisions within both Sunni and Shia camps makes it difficult to predict who will come out on top.

Multiple names for the speakership were suggested late last month and negotiations over the past two weeks have resulted in a broad understanding that the race is between Azm’s Mahmud Al-Mashhadani and Siyada’s Salim Al-Eisawi.

While there were suggestions that an agreement to hold a vote before elections would be difficult, it appears now that there is sufficient political will to go ahead on Wednesday, driven predominantly by a desire from Halbusi’s rivals to undercut his election prospects. If a new speaker can be voted in who is not allied to Halbusi, this could signal the political demise of Taqaddum and have a big impact on voter preferences.