6 days ago
Speaker nullifies Iraq parliament session over procedural breach
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani declared Tuesday's legislative session 'invalid,' asserting that it was held without his authorization and in breach of parliamentary rules.
In an official letter addressed to his first and second deputies, members of parliament, and all relevant bodies, al-Mashhadani cited Article 34/2 of Parliament's internal regulations, which grants him exclusive authority to open and chair sittings, pointing out that no parliamentary session can be held in his absence unless he formally delegates authority or is officially unable to perform his duties.
Iraq's Parliament held a heated meeting on July 5 that ended in chaos after a dispute erupted between the Speaker, his deputies, and several lawmakers, forcing the session to be adjourned until further notice. The dispute soon drew in MPs from the Shiite Coordination Framework and Sunni alliances, including lawmakers Alaa al-Haidari and Raad al-Dahlaki.
A parliamentary source told Shafaq News the confrontation escalated over the inclusion of a vote on the Federal Service Council in the session's agenda. Al-Mashhadani objected to the item being added during his brief departure from the chamber, leading to a verbal clash with al-Mandalawi.
The session opened with 167 lawmakers in attendance and was expected to vote on several key laws, including amendments to the Education Law and the Law on equivalency of foreign degrees (Law No. 20 of 2020). But the quorum was broken after Sunni MPs walked out in protest.
MP Zuhair al-Fatlawi from the Ishraqat Kanoon Movement told Shafaq News that the disruption stemmed from political disagreements rather than technical obstacles. He added that some Sunni blocs insisted on creating a special oversight body for the Federal Service Council, rejecting the proposed law in its current form.
In a statement, MP Raad al-Dahlaki, head of the Azm Alliance in Diyala, condemned the events as 'a targeted insult not only to al-Mashhadani personally, but to the Sunni community as a whole,' accusing 'certain factions' of 'attempting to dominate Iraq's last key state institutions—namely the Federal Service Council and the State Council—while denying Sunnis their rightful share.'
'What's worse is that this scheme is being aided by blocs that claim to represent the Sunni constituency,' al-Dahlaki stated.
MP Mohammed al-Ziyadi told Shafaq News that the clash collapse was a 'misunderstanding' between the Speaker and his deputy, explaining that al-Mashhadani believed his first deputy had taken advantage of his brief absence to insert controversial items onto the agenda and hold a vote without broader political consensus.
Parliament is not expected to reconvene before the Arbaeen, on August 15, after which the disputed laws may be resubmitted for a vote, he revealed.
