2026-04-11T12:16:18+00:00

font

Enable Reading Mode

A-
A
A+

Shafaq News-
Baghdad

Iraq’s Huqooq
(Rights) parliamentary bloc, the political wing of Kataib Hezbollah armed
group, boycotted the presidential election session on Saturday, rejecting “implicit”
political agreements linking the vote to the selection of a prime minister.

The bloc’s
six lawmakers withdrew from the session, a move that does not affect the
required quorum of 220 out of 329 members.

Speaking at
a press conference, MP Hussein Moanes stressed that the bloc had conditioned
its attendance on the absence of any prior arrangements over naming a prime
minister-designate, adding that “what we observed today contradicts that
understanding.” He described the reported coordination between some factions on
both the presidency and premiership as unclear and unacceptable.

MP Mohammed
al-Hassnawi explained that the decision reflects opposition to entrenched
political practices, particularly informal deals shaping government formation.
He underlined that the bloc would not endorse processes that “reproduce
failure,” calling instead for transparency and a clear path toward forming the
next government.

Parliament
convened earlier today with 223 lawmakers present to elect a president from 16
candidates, surpassing the constitutional quorum. The vote is a prerequisite to
naming a prime minister under Iraq’s post-2003 power-sharing system, which
allocates the presidency to a Kurd, the premiership to a Shiite, and the
speakership to a Sunni Arab. The process has stalled for months due to disputes
between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK) over a joint candidate, alongside internal disputes within the Shiite
Coordination Framework, which nominated former PM Nouri al-Maliki but remains
split over his candidacy amid reported US opposition.

Several
factions —including the KDP, the State of Law Coalition, and the Al-Azm
Alliance— also boycotted the session, arguing that proceeding without prior
political consensus violates power-sharing norms, while other blocs—including
the National State Forces Alliance, the Taqaddum Party, the PUK, the
Reconstruction and Development Coalition, Sadiqoon, and the Iraqi Turkmen
Front— insisted on holding the session as scheduled.

Read more: Iraq’s April 11 presidential vote: Who will
attend?