Khanjar leads Sunni charge to secure speakership

Political maneuvering surrounding the election of a new speaker of parliament has reignited following a recent Supreme Court decision that paves the way for parliament to move ahead with another vote.

On February 28, the Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit by several MPs attempting to halt another parliamentary session for the election of a new speaker, citing allegations of bribery. The court ruled that the matter was beyond its jurisdiction.

During the January 13 vote in parliament, the Taqaddum Party candidate Shalan Al-Krayim emerged ahead of his rivals with 152 out of 314 votes but fell short of the 165 votes needed to secure an absolute majority. Khamis Al-Khanjar’s nominee, Salim Al-Eisawi, won 97 votes, while Azm’s Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani picked up just 48 votes. But the session descended into chaos before a second round of voting could be held and the session had to be postponed.

Since last week’s court ruling, Iraq’s Sunni parties and figureheads have been negotiating on a path forward to elect a successor to Halbusi. In an unprecedented move on March 2, all the Sunni blocs and parties, with the exception of Halbusi’s Taqaddum, gathered at Abu Mazin's residence to agree on a consensus position. The meeting was led by Khamis Al-Khanjar, and a joint statement between Siyada, Azm, and Hasm was released describing themselves as the “Sunni parliamentary majority” that also included Abu Mazin’s Jamahir, the Sunni MPs from Al-Aqd Al-Watani, and independent Sunni parliamentarians. The statement went on to say that they intend to proceed with a vote in parliament based on the existing nominees and called on all the blocs to participate in the session.