While the votes were being counted in favor of Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, as the candidate for the post of speaker of the Iraqi parliament, another candidate of the same party won the post of speaker of the provincial council in Diyala province.
Both voting processes were held last night, October 31, 2024, one in Baghdad and the other in Baquba, center of Diyala, 56 kilometers from the capital, but the winner of both was Taqadum (Progress), a leading Sunni Arab bloc led by Mohammed al-Halbusi, the former speaker of the Iraqi parliament.
The post of parliament speaker has been vacant for nearly a year after the Federal Court annulled Mohammed Halbusi's membership in parliament and lost the presidency.
Mashhadani was in fierce competition with Saleem al-Isawi, also a Sunni, who won 153 to 95 votes in the first round, none of whom earned 166 votes. In the second round, Mashhadani won 182 votes against 42 votes for Isawi.
After his election, Mashhadani said they would try to work as a team to make decisions that serve the people and monitor the government's performance together.
Mashhadani, 76, holds a bachelor's degree in medicine and is a poet. He served as the speaker of the Iraqi parliament in 2006.
The position of Speaker of the House of Representatives is dedicated for Sunni Arabs according to the political custom prevailing in Iraq since the formation of the political system after 2003, while the position of Prime Minister goes to the Shiite Arabs, and the position of President of the Republic goes to the Kurds.
In Diyala, the provincial council met the same night, without prior announcement of the agenda through the council announcement, a meeting was held in the presence of 10 out of 15 members and decided on the post of council speaker, which has been vacant for several days.
According to a statement issued by the council, Nizar Lihebi has been elected as the speaker of the Diyala provincial council.
Lihebi, who was elected to the provincial council on the Taqadum list, was previously a protester and has boycotted several council sessions, including a boycott of the council session in Baghdad to form a local government and determine the posts of council speaker and governor.
Lahebi, who later returned to the council and took the post of chairman of the planning committee, after being elected chairman of the council, last night in a press conference attended by KirkukNow reporter, said he will be a refuge for citizens and the people of the province.
On October 29, 2024, the provincial council voted to remove Omar Krui from the post of speaker of the provincial council and open the door for nomination for the post. Nine of the 15 members were present, but Krui later called the removal "illegal and unofficial.”
Krui, who is on the Siyada list (led by Khamis Khanjar, a Sunni leader), linked his case to political differences between other parties and Khamis Khanjar. This refers to the political struggle between Khanjar and Halbusi over several issues, especially the post of speaker of parliament in the past year.
The 15 members of the Diyala Council were first divided into two teams: The Team of Eight and the Team of Seven. The two teams include a mixture of Shiite and Sunni parties seeking to secure the largest number of senior positions in the local government in their favor.
Diyala Provincial Council consists of 15 seats, four of which are allocated to women. Diyala province is home to 1.6 million people, 90,000 of whom live in the center of the Khanaqin dominantly Kurdish district, according to estimates by the Central Bureau of Statistics for 2019.
The election of the council president, governor, and their deputies took place on August 04 at the Rashid Hotel in Baghdad.
Diyala province consists of six districts and 15 sub-districts, including various disputed areas under Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, such as Khanaqin district.
Later, a new coalition was formed by nine out of 15 members, excluding the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PUK, which did not participate. The other parties were the same ones that held an emergency meeting in mid August at the Rashid Hotel in Baghdad, resulting in the election of the council speaker, governor, and deputies after months of controversy.
*This article has been produced as part of the "Budget is your Right" initiative with the support of National Democracy Institute (NDI).
