Al-Mashhadani Fills Two-Year Vacancy as Iraq’s Parliament Speaker

Iraqi lawmakers cast their votes to elect the parliament speaker on October 31, 2024 (Parliament Media)
Iraqi lawmakers cast their votes to elect the parliament speaker on October 31, 2024 (Parliament Media)
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Al-Mashhadani Fills Two-Year Vacancy as Iraq’s Parliament Speaker

Iraqi lawmakers cast their votes to elect the parliament speaker on October 31, 2024 (Parliament Media)
Iraqi lawmakers cast their votes to elect the parliament speaker on October 31, 2024 (Parliament Media)

The Iraqi parliament elected veteran politician Mahmoud al-Mashhadani as its new speaker on Thursday, ending a two-year vacancy in the position.
During the voting session, lawmakers considered candidates including al-Mashhadani, Salim al-Aisawi, Talal al-Zubai, and Amer Abdul Jabbar.
In the first round, 271 members voted, with al-Mashhadani receiving 153 votes and al-Aisawi getting 95. The Iraqi constitution requires an absolute majority—more than half of the 329 members—to win the speakership.
As a result, a second round of voting was held with 269 lawmakers participating. Al-Mashhadani won decisively, securing 182 votes to officially become the speaker of parliament.
Political sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that lawmakers from the State of Law coalition, led by Nouri al-Maliki, supported al-Mashhadani, creating an unusual alliance with former parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi.
Al-Halbousi, who leads the Takadum (Progress) Party representing the Sunni majority, held lengthy talks with Sunni leaders late Wednesday into Thursday. These discussions reportedly resulted in a consensus to nominate al-Mashhadani.
Initially, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan opposed al-Mashhadani’s election. However, he spoke with the party’s parliament members just hours before the vote, easing their objections.
Hours before the voting session, al-Mashhadani called on political blocs to support his candidacy to end a long-standing crisis. In contrast, rival al-Aisawi urged lawmakers to protect democracy by resisting any pressure on their political choices.
Parliamentary sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that al-Maliki and al-Halbousi arrived at the parliament before the second round of voting to rally support for al-Mashhadani, including from Sunni lawmakers who initially backed al-Aisawi.
Lawmakers had repeatedly failed to elect a parliament speaker due to deep divisions within the Sunni bloc and attempts by Shia factions to push for a single Sunni candidate.
The Shiite “Coordination Framework” controls the 329-member parliament, despite differing views among its leaders.
Al-Mashhadani, a physician with an Islamic background, has re-entered the political scene nearly 16 years after his removal as speaker of the Iraqi parliament.
Born in Baghdad in 1948, he completed his education there before attending medical school in 1966. He graduated and became a first lieutenant in the Iraqi army in 1972, serving as a physician.
Elected as parliament speaker on Thursday, al-Mashhadani is the first legislative leader in Iraq since 2003 and previously held the position of president of the Arab Parliament Union in 2008.

 



Lebanese PM's Office Denies US Asked Lebanon to Declare Unilateral Ceasefire with Israel

27 March 2023, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference following a meeting of cabinet. (Dalati & Nohra)
27 March 2023, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference following a meeting of cabinet. (Dalati & Nohra)
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Lebanese PM's Office Denies US Asked Lebanon to Declare Unilateral Ceasefire with Israel

27 March 2023, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference following a meeting of cabinet. (Dalati & Nohra)
27 March 2023, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference following a meeting of cabinet. (Dalati & Nohra)

The office of Lebanese caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati on Friday denied that the US had asked Lebanon to declare a unilateral ceasefire, after two sources told Reuters that a US envoy had made the request to inject momentum into stalled talks on a deal to end hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.
In a statement to Reuters, Mikati's office said the government's stance was clear on seeking a ceasefire from both sides and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the last round of conflict between the two foes in 2006.

Earlier, a senior Lebanese political source and a senior diplomat said the US had asked Lebanon to declare a unilateral ceasefire with Israel to revive stalled talks to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
They said the effort was communicated by US envoy Amos Hochstein to Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati this week, as the US stepped up diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
The US embassy in Beirut did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The sources said the US sought to persuade Beirut to take back some initiative in the talks, particularly given the perception that Israel will likely continue military operations that have already killed most of Hezbollah's leadership and destroyed much of the country's south.
Lebanon's armed forces are not involved in the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which began firing rockets at Israeli military sites a year ago in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas in Gaza.
Any effort to reach a ceasefire would need a green light from Hezbollah, which has ministers in Lebanon's cabinet and whose members and allies hold a significant number of seats in Lebanon's parliament.
Diplomats mediate with Hezbollah through the group's ally, Lebanese speaker of parliament Nabih Berri. Hezbollah has said it backs efforts by Berri to reach a ceasefire but says it must meet certain parameters, without providing details.
But a unilateral declaration was seen as a non-starter in Lebanon, the sources said, where it would likely be equated with a surrender.
DIPLOMATIC INITIATIVE
Another diplomat told Reuters that Hochstein had made a similar proposal months ago to Mikati and Berri.
Hochstein told them that if Hezbollah unilaterally declared a ceasefire, he "could have something to present" to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a diplomatic initiative.
"His exact words were, 'help me, help you," the diplomat said, adding that then-Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah rejected the idea. Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli air attack on Sept. 27 on Beirut's southern suburbs.
Despite its losses, Hezbollah has maintained that the Iran-backed group's chain of command is intact and its fighters have kept Israeli forces making ground incursions into Lebanon at bay.
The US has been pushing for a 60-day ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel as a prelude to a fuller implementation of 1701, sources told Reuters this week.
Hochstein was in Israel on Thursday with White House envoy Brett McGurk, but they did not continue on to Lebanon.
Speaking about Lebanon on Thursday, Netanyahu said that "agreements, documents, proposals....are not the main point."
"The main point is our ability and determination to enforce security, thwart attacks against us, and act against the arming of our enemies, as necessary and despite any pressure and constraints. This is the main point," he said.