ALBAWABA - The election of an Iraqi president has long become the talk of town in Baghdad. Although its a ceremonial post, parliamentarians can't get themselves to choose an Iraqi president who is traditionally a Kurd.
Iraqi parliament fails to elect president for 2nd time https://t.co/owy8ApJzlo
— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) March 27, 2022
The social media is rife with the news. The vote that was supposed to take place Saturday (27 March, 2022) was postponed till 30 March because the 329-seat parliament didn't reach the full quorum to elect a president.
Iraqi PM Kadhimi calls the current situation very dangerous because parliament is unable to form a new government. Calls for quick government formation. https://t.co/Mx40TfrJR9
— David M. Witty (@DavidMWitty1) March 27, 2022
This time around only 202 MPs turned up. What is needed at least 220 parliamentarians under the dome to vote in a new president. Despite being ceremonial, the president appoints a prime minister, in agreement of course with the deputies. At the moment there is only a caretaker government that has been in place since early last October, 2021.
Iraqi Parliament Fails Again to Elect New President After Session Boycotted https://t.co/1tA5ewmPL1
— أخبار المسيرة (@akhbaralmasirah) March 27, 2022
That's one point. Another is the fact that if a president is not elected by 6 April, the parliament goes into suspension, triggering another election that will be held sometimes this year. Therefore, everyone is waiting with much trepidation.
Iraqi parliament speaker’s trip to Iran postponed https://t.co/NMkTC2PtTr
— Muhabarishaji News Agency? (@Muhabarishaji) March 27, 2022
At the moment its a constitutional mess, not quite a crisis but very near because of that parliamentary and government business that is still outstanding. The Iraqi MPs had the first opportunity to choose a president last February but they couldn't because not enough of them turned up for the session. This time around the session ended because of the same problem. In both cases however, the move was considered as deliberate.
With Iraqi politics, the question of bickering rules all the way in spite of the fact of the dominant and multi-numbered factions. The first session got unstuck when an Iraqi court ruled out that Hoshyar Zebari, couldn't stand because of corruption allegations allegedly made in 2015 when her served as foreign minister.
This time around also two candidates were put forward: Barham Salih, who is re-standing for elections and supported by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan against Rebar Ahmad of the Kurdistan Republican Party, a rival of the PUK and is supported by Moqtada Al Sadr, a Shia cleric, who has the largest group in the assembly and wants his cousin Jaafar Sadr elected as prime minister instead of the current Mostapha Al Kadhimi.
But will the fight for the next Iraqi president be resolved in time. Not many are hopeful and expect another parliamentary elections, soon though many groups prefer to bide their time so a last minute agreement can .
