Early Friday Morning Iraq News 4-1-22

WHAT IF THE POLITICAL STALEMATE CONTINUES IN IRAQ?

In light of the unusual stability of the political class on both sides of the equation (Shiite-Shiite) between a majority government and a consensus government, Iraq is facing a political complex that resulted in three failed attempts to elect a president of the republic, the last of which was a parliamentary session on Wednesday, and a continuation of the constitutional breach, six months after the elections Parliament early, with no solution in sight.

On Wednesday, the Iraqi parliament adjourned, "until further notice", its session in which it was scheduled to elect a President of the Republic.

- Why has Parliament not yet elected a President of the Republic?

The quorum was broken due to the continuing political disagreements.

The origin of these differences is due to the announcement of the results of the early elections in October. At that time, the Sadrist movement, led by the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, won the largest number of seats.

In Iraq, it is customary to share power on the principle of consensus, and for Shiite forces collectively to form the largest bloc in parliament that must choose a prime minister, but al-Sadr wants to break from that tradition.

Since then, he has reiterated his insistence on forming a majority government and that he holds the largest bloc in a tripartite alliance called "Save the Homeland", with the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and a bloc of Sunni parties, the most prominent of which is a party led by Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi, with about 155 deputies.

As for the coordinating framework, which is an influential Shiite alliance that includes the "State of Law" bloc led by former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the Fatah bloc, it desires a consensual government among all Shiite forces, as usual.

Until his demand is fulfilled, his more than 130 deputies are boycotting the presidential election sessions, depriving Wednesday's session of the two-thirds quorum and disrupting the political track.

What are the prospects for resolving these disputes? -

The third parliament session on Wednesday, and the political statements that followed, with Muqtada al-Sadr's affirmation of his unwillingness to "consensus", proved that a solution is still a long way off.

Ihsan Al-Shammari, a professor of political science at the University of Baghdad, explains to AFP that "the failure to set a date (for the next session to elect the president) by the parliament presidency indicates that there are no prospects for solutions related to the session for selecting a president for the republic, and there is no rapprochement between the tripartite alliance (save a homeland)." and between the Shiite coordinating framework.

In a country where politics is actually based on the sharing of shares and the influence of weapons, and where differences are resolved behind the scenes rather than in the corridors of Parliament, the two main parties cling to their positions mean that the crisis will continue for many months as well.

Representative Jwan Abdullah Omar of the Kurdistan Democratic Party said in an interview with the media that "negotiations are continuing ... but there are multiple differences between the political forces regarding the passing of the President of the Republic."

Iraqi political analyst Hamza Haddad explains that "the political class is able to negotiate for many months, as the experiences of forming previous governments have proven to us, unless there is an external threat such as the Islamic State organization in 2014, to push political leaders to agree among themselves faster."

"They will continue as long as possible to get what they want, even if this means exceeding constitutional deadlines, as is the case with the election of a president since February of this year," he added.

- What about the constitution?

The constitution stipulates that a president must be elected within 30 days of parliament holding its first session, in this case on January 9.

Iraqi legal expert Ahmed Al-Sufi explains to AFP that once "the date of February 9th was passed, we were faced with a constitutional violation".

He believes that as long as Parliament is still unable to reach consensus, this means that the constitutional violation continues.

In this case, I can only hope for a political consensus.

The Federal Court, the highest judicial authority in the country in this case, can only express one opinion, according to Al-Sufi, which is that “Parliament violated the constitution by not electing the President of the Republic within 30 days from the date of the first session, and the House of Representatives must elect within a short period the President of the Republic.” ".

He added, "The Federal Court does not have any other authority" other than "to determine the constitutional violation."

Legally, Parliament only has until April 6 to elect a president, following a decision of the Federal Court, the country's highest judicial authority.

If this date is exceeded, there is nothing in the constitution that specifies how to deal with the issue, so the possibilities remain open if the concerned parties do not reach an agreement.

The matter, then, is not in the hands of the law, but in the hands of the political class.

In the event that the political stalemate continues, parliament may be resorted to and new early elections may be held. This needs to present “a third of the members of Parliament to present his dissolution before the House of Representatives, then the House will vote itself by half + one, and the Parliament will dissolve itself.”

However, Iraqi political analyst Hamza Haddad believes that "there is no political desire among the parties to do this, and as electoral participation in the past two elections has shown, there is no great desire among Iraqis to go and vote as well."    https://n.annabaa.org/Reports/73086  

Al-Sadr Challenges His Opponents .. "Form A Government By Yourself Within 40 Days"

Dubai - Alarabiya.net  Published in:Apr 01, 2022: 10:02 AM GSTLast updated:Apr 01, 2022: 10:37 AM GST

With his failure to form a government and electing a president  , despite having a parliamentary majority in Iraq, the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, launched a challenge in the face of his opponents.

In a tweet on his Twitter account yesterday evening, and after 3 sessions in the Iraqi parliament that failed to elect a president for the lack of a quorum, amid the dispute with the “coordinating framework” that includes parties, alliances and factions close to Tehran, Al-Sadr announced his retreat for the next forty days, and granted his rivals opportunity to form the next government in the country.

Al-Sadr challenges his opponents .. "Form a government by yourself within 40 days" Political crisis in Iraq .. A tweet ignites the headquarters of a party allied with Al-Sadr  no pectoral lump"

While he attacked his opponents, saying that they "obstructed the process and are still obstructing it", he called on his followers not to interfere "positively or negatively", while the coordinating framework forces, which adhered to the so-called "blocking third", are trying to form its government without the Sadrist bloc.

As for the reason for his behavior, he mentioned it in his tweet as well, saying that he did not want Iraq to remain paralyzed without a government or president.

To that, he granted his opponents from the beginning of Ramadan until forty days later in order to consult with the rest of the parliamentary blocs in order to form a government of national unity, perhaps in reference to the allies of the Sadrist movement from the Kurds and Sunnis.

On the other hand, there was no immediate comment from the "coordinating framework" forces.

Al-Sadr challenges his opponents .. "Form a government by yourself within 40 days"

Muqtada al-Sadr (archive - The Associated Press)   sudden move

Al-Sadr's sudden move comes against the backdrop of the continuing political stalemate in Iraq, more than five months after the end of the legislative elections that took place last October. Especially after the political parties reached a dead end, while the Shiite leader who won the elections was unable to form a coalition government.

It also comes at a time when the political forces have only a few days before entering a constitutional vacuum. According to the decision of the Federal Supreme Court issued on March 6, the deadline for opening the door for candidacy for the post of President of the Republic for one time ends on April 6. Parliament and call early elections within two months.

However, it is also a gamble because the failure of the coordination framework will give the Sairoon Alliance great influence, but its success will transform the Sadr party into the role of the opposition, and thus exclude it from the next government.

It is noteworthy that the Sadr bloc failed, over 3 sessions, to deliver its candidate from the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Ribar Ahmed, to the presidency, due to the lack of a quorum.

While the Sadrist movement allied with the Democratic Party, as well as the Progress Alliance (headed by Parliament Speaker, Muhammad al-Halbousi), adhere to forming a national majority government from the winners of the parliamentary majority during the elections that took place on the tenth of last October,

the coordination framework, which includes representatives, is still On the part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, the “Coalition of State of Law” party affiliated with Nuri al-Maliki, and other parties and factions loyal to Iran, they demand what has become known as the “blocking third” in any future government, and it also adheres to its candidate for the presidency, Barham Salih.   LINK

The Coordination Framework Describes The Sadr Initiative And Announces Its Position

03/31/2022 1038    Earth News/ The Shiite coordination framework commented today, Thursday, on the tweet of the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, in which the framework gave 40 days an opportunity to form the new government, in what he described as a “maneuver.”

The leader in the framework, Aid al-Hilali, told "Earth News" that "the tweet of the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, came for the sake of political maneuvering and with the aim of throwing the ball into the court of the Shiite coordination framework."

Al-Hilali indicated that "the Shiite coordination framework cannot dispense with the Sadrist bloc regarding the formation of the largest bloc and the new government, and for this we will have dialogues and negotiations with the Sadrist movement for that in the near future."    https://earthiq.news/archives/56450

Oil Clarifies Its Plan To Supply Private Generators With Fuel During Ramadan

FRI, 01-04-2022,PM 1:39   TAYSEER AL-ASSADI  Today, Friday, the Ministry of Oil clarified its plan to supply private generators with fuel during the month of Ramadan.

The Director General of Oil Products Distribution, Hussein Talib, said, in a statement to the official agency, that "the company gives the fuel quota according to the hours of electricity supply," noting that "in the event of an increase in the power outage according to the programming of the Ministry of Electricity, the fuel quota will be increased for generator owners."

He added that "the Ministry of Oil is working on preparing the generators according to the hours of programmed interruption," noting that "the quota that was scheduled last year and at the height of the summer was 40 liters per (qualitative) one during the month of July, and after the improvement of the electric current, the quota returned to 20 liters."   http://non14.net/public/145986

Al-Saadi: The Tripartite Alliance May Go To The Federal Court To Extend The Term For The Election Of The President Of The Republic

POLITICIAN  04/01/2022 | 10:19 AM   Information / Baghdad...Political analyst Muhammad Karim al-Saadi said that the tripartite alliance may go to the Federal Court in order to extend the term of the election of the President of the Republic in order to obtain additional time to get out of the current crisis.

Al-Saadi told "Al-Maalouma", "The Federal Court has resolved matters regarding the time period for choosing the President of the Republic, which will prompt the party seeking to obtain this position to go to it in order to extend the period before going towards the unknown."

He added, "The coordinating framework is unwilling for Al-Kazemi to remain in power, and therefore the change requires making some concessions by the framework and the current to proceed with forming the government before violating the period set for electing the president and the continuation of the caretaker government in power."

And he indicated that "the tripartite alliance seeks to obtain the presidency of the republic and resolve its issue before the sixth of April, but the matter is complicated and resolving the crisis depends on the hands of its leaders through its dialogue with the coordination framework that announced the opening of its doors to all in order to change the current situation and proceed with the formation of the government." finished 25 https://almaalomah.me/2022/04/01/590461/

A Law Clarifies What Is Meant By Achieving Two-Thirds In Parliament To Pass A Presidential Candidate

Politician   Last Update 04/01/2022 | 10:32 Am  nformation / Baghdad... The legal expert, Ali Al-Tamimi, explained what is meant by the verification of two-thirds in Parliament to pass one of the presidential candidates.

Al-Tamimi told Al-Maalouma, "The Federal Court's decision stipulated the opening of the nomination for the position of President of the Republic for one time only, No. 24 of 2022, and that the period for selecting one of the candidates ends on the 6th of this April."

He added that "to vote and choose the new President of the Republic, the Federal Court stipulated the opening of the parliament session with a two-thirds majority of the total number of the House of Representatives, which means the presence of 220 deputies, and that they are present at the start of voting according to the Federal Court's decision to open the nomination door with this percentage in the first round, and if it does not happen, Any of the candidates on this percentage, we will be facing a second round in which the competition is limited to the first and second highest winners, and any of them gets the majority of votes, then he wins the presidency.”

And he indicated that “and if Parliament fails to pass one of the candidates before the 6th of this April, we will be in front of an explicit violation of the decision of the Federal Supreme Court, which authorized the opening of the nomination for one time, and Parliament may be dissolved at the request of a third of the members and the approval of the absolute majority of the number of members in accordance with Article 64 of the constitution or The referendum of the Federal Supreme Court, if that is done, is to find out the constitutional outlet, and we may be in the event of this happening before new early elections.” finished 25 https://almaalomah.me/2022/04/01/590465/