Presidential election postponed in Iraq

The presidential election in Iraq was officially set to be held today.

While at least two-thirds of the 329 lawmakers must be present for the election to take place, only 58 lawmakers out of 329 were present in the parliament since many groups are boycotting the election.

Earlier, Shiite leader Muktada Sadr’s movement, which is the strongest group with 73 seats in the parliament, announced that it would not participate in the vote.

On Sunday evening, one of Sadr’s allies, the Sovereignty Alliance, which has 51 seats and is led by Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al-Halbousi, also decided to boycott the elections. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) which is represented by 31 lawmakers also boycotted the voting.

The pro-Iran Cooperation Framework announced that the elections should be held.

Thus, the political deadlock has been continuing since the general elections in October. A new government has not been formed for four months.

The Presidency, a symbolic office, is traditionally given to the Kurds. However, the KDP and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) nominated separate candidates. KDP nominated former Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari while the PUK nominated current President Barham Salih.

Since the KDP candidate has been accused of corruption, his ally, the Sadr movement, withdrew its support from Zebari. The Iraqi Supreme Court ruled that Zebari did not fulfil the conditions set by the Constitution and cited that he was dismissed from duty in 2016 on corruption charges.

If the presidential election is held, the new President must also appoint a new prime minister within 15 days. The office of prime minister is traditionally given to Shiites. The new PM has one month to form the new government.

SADR, KDP, HALBUSI

However, a new government also remains difficult to form. The Sadr movement states that it wants to form a “national majority government” by forming an alliance with the Sunni Al-Halbusi group and the KDP. Sadr thus renounced the traditional consensus that all major parties should participate to form a government. Some analysts think that Sadr is trying to weaken his rivals.

Speaking to AFP, political scientist Hamze Hadad stated that an expanded coalition could be formed. “No one wants to stay in opposition, everyone is focused on how to get his piece of the pie,” he said.