Source: Al-Halbousi is considering stepping down from the parliamentary speakership to a consensus candidate.
Source: Al-Halbousi is considering stepping down from the parliamentary speakership to a consensus candidate.
12-21-2025
Information/Baghdad
A source close to the National Political Council, which represents Sunni forces in Iraq, revealed on Sunday that the head of the “Progress” coalition, Mohammed al-Halbousi, resorted to what he called a “roadmap” in his discussions with Sunni forces, which may include his resignation from the position of Speaker of Parliament.
The source told Al-Maalomah that “an unannounced meeting was held last night in Baghdad that included representatives of Sunni forces, including the Halbousi coalition, in order to make progress towards limiting the disagreements over the mechanism for determining participation.”
He added that the meeting addressed “putting forward a consensus candidate for the position of Speaker of Parliament, in addition to the ministries that are the entitlement of the component,” noting that “there is flexibility on the part of the Halbousi coalition to give up the position in exchange for it being given to another figure from within ‘Progress’.”
The source pointed out that “Al-Halbousi realized that winning the position of Speaker of Parliament would be difficult in light of the opposition from some Sunni forces, in addition to another force from the main components,” referring to what the media reported about indications from the “Coordination Framework” (the main Shiite umbrella) that it did not want Al-Halbousi to run for the position again.
According to the source, “Al-Halbousi is trying to emphasize the possibility of giving up his ambition to assume the position of Speaker of Parliament, provided that he supports one of the leaders of his alliance for this position.”
He explained that “these indicators reached the leaders of the Sunni forces today, and perhaps the situation will be announced in the coming period,” noting that “the response from the other Sunni forces will be to present their vision regarding this change, especially since there is a desire on the part of some Sunni forces to grant the presidency of the House of Representatives to the ‘Determination’ alliance.”
It is worth noting that the National Political Council, the umbrella organization for the winning Sunni forces, had agreed on a consensus mechanism for nominating its candidate for Speaker of Parliament, with the possibility of fielding multiple candidates if no agreement is reached.
almaalomah.me
