Newly-elected Iraqi parliament to convene for the first time on 9 January

ByNews Desk- The Cradle

The meeting will come amid a free-for-all race by all political actors to become part of the leading bloc in parliament

Iraqi President Barham Salih announced on 30 December that the newly-elected parliament will convene for its first meeting on 9 January.

Salih made the announcement via Twitter, also calling on legislators to form “a capable and effective government that protects the interests of the country and enhances sovereignty.”

The legislative meeting will come in spite of ongoing disputes between Iraq’s main Shia, Sunni, and Kurdish blocks over the makeup of the next government.

In particular, disputes are brewing on the question of whether to renew the mandate of the current president, prime minister, and parliament speaker.

Following the ratification of the election results by the Federal Supreme Court on 27 December, legislators have a 15-day deadline to form the new government, according to Iraqi law.

The news comes just days after talks between influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of the dominant Sairoon Coalition, and the heads of the Coordination Framework reached a stalemate.

During the meeting, Sadr reportedly shot down the demands made by the Framework regarding the line up of the next government.

Leaders of the Coordination Framework – which includes the Fatah Alliance, the State of Law Coalition, and several parties affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) – reportedly demanded that the mandates of the three current heads of state be terminated and that the leader of the State of Law Coalition, Nouri al-Maliki, be included in the next government.

A new round of talks is expected between the two sides in the coming days, according to the spokesperson to the State of Law coalition Bahaa al-Nouri.

“The Framework’s committee in charge of negotiating with the political parties will hold a meeting with the Sadrist bloc to settle the issue of the largest bloc and the division of labor in accordance with the electoral entitlements,” Al-Nouri told reporters.

But a new report by Shafaq News quotes unnamed sources as saying that, if the Sadrist bloc fails to reach an agreement with the Coordination Framework “it has a near-final understanding with Mohammad al-Halboosi’s Takaddom bloc and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Masoud Barzani … to assemble the largest bloc and comfortably lead the formation of the new government.”

“The Framework forces are trying to exert pressure on the Sadrist bloc to loosen its stance in exchange for joining him in a unified Shia front,” the sources go on to add.

There is also a belief that the leader of the Fatah Alliance, Hadi al-Ameri, may soon hold a meeting with Sadr representing only his party.

Finally, the sources allege that “the chances of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi being re-elected are less than 20 percent.”