The “Rights” parliamentary bloc joins the ranks of those boycotting the session to elect the President of the Republic.
The “Rights” parliamentary bloc joins the ranks of those boycotting the session to elect the President of the Republic.
2026-04-11
Shafaq News – Baghdad
The “Rights” parliamentary bloc announced on Saturday that it was joining the blocs boycotting the House of Representatives session dedicated to electing the President of the Republic.
Parliamentary sources told Shafaq News Agency that the number of attendees at today’s session to elect the President of the Republic reached about 240 MPs.
According to the parliamentary equation, the withdrawal of the six members of the Rights Bloc does not change the constitutional quorum required to elect the President of the Republic, which is determined by the presence of two-thirds of the 329 members of the House of Representatives, i.e., 220 members, unless the number is disrupted by other withdrawals.
MP Mohammed Al-Hasnawi, speaking at a press conference held in the parliament building and attended by a Shafaq News Agency correspondent, said, “Our decision not to attend the House of Representatives session stemmed from our concern for the country’s interest and to transcend political agreements.” He added, “We have said and we reiterate that we will not be false witnesses to positions that perpetuate or reproduce failure, and that the current stage must be clear for the formation of the government.”
He added that “the bloc was present in the House of Representatives, but decided not to attend the session in protest against political norms that we have always objected to, which are political agreements to assign a candidate for the premiership later,” noting that “the current stage requires breaking the political deadlock and transparency in the work.”
For his part, MP Hussein Mounes said, “Our position is clear: we will be present on the condition that there are no implicit agreements to appoint a specific Prime Minister. What we witnessed today is contrary to the agreement.”
He added that “there is an unclear agreement between some political blocs to elect a president and appoint a candidate for prime minister, and we reject these agreements, as they are contrary to what was agreed upon in the meeting of political blocs yesterday.”
The Iraqi parliament began its session on Saturday to vote on a new president for the country, amid objections from some political forces due to the lack of consensus that usually precedes important and sensitive sessions.
Iraq has exceeded the constitutional deadline by about 70 days, while 148 days have passed without the formation of a new government in a political impasse that has continued since the legislative elections in October/November 2025.
The Speaker of Parliament, Hebat al-Halbousi, called on the heads of blocs and MPs to attend the session and proceed with completing the constitutional requirements, threatening to reveal the names of absent MPs and the parties that are obstructing its convening, in a final attempt to secure the necessary quorum.
But this call was met with successive boycott announcements, as the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the State of Law Coalition, in addition to other blocs, announced their non-attendance, considering that proceeding with the election without a prior political understanding represents a violation of the principle of partnership, before the Azm Alliance joined them, which linked its participation to an agreement within the coordination framework, which was not achieved.
In contrast, other blocs affirmed their commitment to holding the session on schedule, including the State Forces Alliance, the Progress Party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the Reconstruction and Development Coalition, the Sadiqun Bloc, as well as the Turkmen Front.
shafaq.com
