Sheikh Hammam Hamoudi, head of Iraq’s Islamic Supreme Council, speaks during a political forum in Baghdad.
Islamic Supreme Council chief says presidency delay holding up PM nomination
BAGHDAD — The head of Iraq’s Islamic Supreme Council, Sheikh Hammam Hamoudi, said the failure to decide on a presidential candidate has delayed tasking a nominee for prime minister, urging Kurdish parties to resolve the issue quickly.
“The Kurds are our partners and have a project, and the delay in settling the presidential candidate has caused a delay in tasking the prime ministerial candidate,” Hamoudi said at a dialogue forum. “We hope they will interact with the framework’s initiative, avoid wasting time, and settle their position quickly.”
He warned against foreign involvement in Iraq’s political process. “Opening the door to external intervention under any justification means opening the way for future interference in all our affairs. We are keen on the independence of our decision, and our dignity comes first.”
Hamoudi said the Shiite Coordination Framework is seeking to use time constructively through “a path of negotiation with the United States state to state, and dealing according to the framework agreement, on the basis of mutual respect and understanding points of difference.”
He added that Iraq “faces major challenges,” stressing the need for “a strong national government that is cooperative, inclusive of national forces, and aware of the requirements of the next stage.”
Iraq’s government formation has stalled since the Nov. 11 elections. Under the constitution, parliament must first elect a president, who then tasks a nominee to form a government. Multiple sessions to elect a president have been postponed, and the constitutional deadline has passed.
Under Iraq’s informal power-sharing arrangement since 2003, the presidency is customarily held by a Kurdish politician, the prime ministership by a Shiite Arab and the speakership by a Sunni Arab. The impasse stems from disagreement between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
The KDP argues the presidency should go to the largest Kurdish force. KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani told Sky News Arabic that “just as Sunnis give the post of parliament speaker to the largest force and Shiites give the post of prime minister to the largest bloc, the largest Kurdish force should take the post of president of the republic.” The KDP has nominated Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.
The PUK maintains the presidency is its entitlement under established norms. Harem Kamal Agha, head of the PUK parliamentary bloc, told party media that by securing second deputy speaker, the KDP “has obtained its entitlement in Iraq,” adding that “the position of president of the republic should go to the Patriotic Union.”
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has met Kurdish leaders in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah to break the deadlock. The Coordination Framework has called for resolving the presidency “within a short period,” warning that continued paralysis does not align with Iraq’s challenges.