“Vice President”… Al-Halbousi seeks the position amidst competition and “depletion of points”
“Vice President”… Al-Halbousi seeks the position amidst competition and “depletion of points”
2026-05-03
Shafaq News – Baghdad
A source in the political coalition uniting Sunni forces revealed on Sunday that the leader of the Progress Party, Mohammed al-Halbousi, is attempting to obtain one of the positions of Vice President of the Republic or Prime Minister, amid competition from Sarmad al-Khanjar, the son of the leader of the Sovereignty Alliance, Khamis al-Khanjar.
The source told Shafaq News Agency that “Al-Halbousi had proposed assuming the position of Vice President of the Republic or the government, and he presented his demand through his representative to influential forces within the coordination framework to discuss it with the person tasked with forming the government, Ali Al-Zaidi.”
He added that “the recent visits made by Speaker of Parliament Hebat al-Halbousi to some Shiite leaders touched on the possibility of activating the position of the two vice presidents of the republic, and assigning one of them to al-Halbousi, but so far these are only dialogues within political circles.”
He continued: “Even if these positions are reactivated, there is a hidden conflict within the Sunni bloc over the position between Halbousi and Sarmad al-Khanjar, and the latter is striving to obtain the position, if executive powers are added to it.” He explained that “Halbousi’s assumption of one of these positions may be met with rejection by some political forces, especially since the number of parliamentary seats he won secured him the position of Speaker of Parliament, which became for his party, according to the (points) equation, and what remains of his (points) grants him a sovereign ministry, according to the existing custom.”
It is worth noting that a political source revealed to Shafaq News Agency a few days ago that the Ministry of Higher Education will be allocated to the Progress Party (which obtained the position of Speaker of Parliament) led by Mohammed al-Halbousi, which holds 27 seats as a major party, while the Azm Alliance, led by Muthanna al-Samarrai, which holds 15 seats, will receive the Ministry of Defense.
Sources indicated the day before yesterday that al-Zaydi will meet with Sunni leaders, including al-Halbousi, because the latter raised the ceiling of his party’s demands in the government cabinet, which sparked controversy behind the scenes of the political forces, especially with the Sunni ministries file entering the stage of direct negotiation.
On Monday evening, the ruling Shiite coalition forces in Iraq announced the nomination of Ali al-Zidi for the premiership, following the withdrawal of al-Sudani and al-Maliki from the race for the position. This move opened the door to a new settlement within the Shiite bloc after weeks of political deadlock regarding the form of the next government and the distribution of its sovereign and service positions.
shafaq.com
