Iraq's parliament re-elects president during turbulent inaugural session

Deputies attend the opening session of the Iraqi Parliament – Iraqi Premier/AFP

The inaugural assembly of the new Iraqi parliament was marked on Sunday by discussions between deputies and by the “aggression” of the president of the session, three months after the legislative elections, won by the Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr.

With 73 deputies out of the 329 that make up Parliament, Al-Sadr claims victory and the right to form a “majority” coalition in Parliament, which would allow him to nominate the prime minister and government.

The Alliance for Conquest coalition, which brings together several Shia parties, composed mainly of former pro-Iran paramilitaries of Hashd al-Shaabi, this time took 17 seats, against the 48 it held in the previous parliament.

This Sunday, during the opening session, the deputies re-elected the influential Sunni deputy Mohamed al-Halbusi to preside the parliament. But the vote was preceded by discussions in the plenary.

According to Kurdish deputy Muthana Amin, everything “started normally”, but then the “Coordination Framework”, a coalition that groups together several Shiite parties, including the Conquest Alliance, claimed that it was the most important parliamentary alliance, with 88 deputies. Mahmud al-Mashadani, who chaired the session, “then asked for this information to be verified, which led to him being booed and attacked by some deputies,” Amin told AFP, without naming the attackers.

“He had to be hospitalized,” public television channel Iraqiya reported. According to the Iraqi news agency INA, his situation was stable.

According to a parliamentary source, the confrontation took place between Al-Sadr’s deputies and his rivals in the Coordinating Board. The session was suspended for over an hour.

Parliament now has 30 days to elect the president of the republic, who must appoint the prime minister. The latter will have 30 days to form the government.