Al-Halbousi is out of office… Political norms thwart his ambitions for the presidency and parliament.
The head of the Progress Party, Mohammed al-Halbousi, failed to obtain support and consensus from the Sunni forces and the rest of the political parties to win the position of President of the Republic, given that the prevailing political custom confirms that this position is the share of the Kurdish component, in addition to the rejection of al-Halbousi’s presence as a candidate for the position of Speaker of Parliament after he was dismissed from the position on charges of forgery in the last parliamentary session. Consequently, al-Halbousi will be excluded from the circle of presidential positions despite obtaining the first rank in terms of the number of parliamentary seats within the Sunni component.
Fadi Al-Lahibi, a member of the Al-Azm Alliance, told Al-Maalouma, “The possibility of Al-Halbousi returning to the presidency of Parliament is unlikely given the prevailing sentiment to avoid repeating the past experience, which resulted in many complications in the political landscape. Many political forces, including Sunni and Kurdish groups, support the selection of one of the Al-Azm Alliance’s candidates for Speaker of Parliament, considering him the most open to all forces and with clear positions.” He added, “Al-Halbousi’s return to the Speakership is unlikely, and many forces have begun to state this. The next phase is expected to be different, but ultimately, it is the Sunni forces, including the Al-Azm Alliance, who determine who assumes the Speakership and whose candidate is put forward.”
For his part, Muhammad al-Fahdawi, a leader in the United Anbar Alliance, told Al-Maalouma that “the political process since its inception has adopted the principle of consensus and political norms in distributing the three presidencies, and that any change or replacement in these positions requires consensus among all components, in addition to the acceptance of a specific component represented by its political forces, as al-Halbousi’s desire to grant the Sunni component the presidency of the republic is a difficult step, and does not have the approval of the majority of Sunni forces, as the position is protocol-based and does not achieve real gains for the component, but rather falls within personal interests.”
In a related context, political analyst Yassin Aziz told Al-Maalomah that “the Sunni component suffers from service, economic, and security problems that require urgent solutions, making the competition for the presidency less important compared to these more pressing issues. The three presidential positions in Iraq were previously agreed upon by the political forces according to the norms followed since 2005, and changing this norm requires a comprehensive national agreement, which does not seem possible at present.” He pointed out that “the Sunni component does not stand united behind Mohammed al-Halbousi’s insistence on the presidency, and a number of Sunni forces believe that persisting in this position could exacerbate internal divisions and affect their stance in the government formation negotiations.”
Almaalomah.me