ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraqi President Barham Salih on Saturday called for "serious and effective" dialogue to address Iraq's current political crisis, following the parliament's failure to elect a president earlier in the day with rival alliances failing to reach a compromise.
The parliamentary session to elect Iraq's next president was adjourned to Wednesday as the tripartite alliance, consisting of the Sadrist Movement, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and the Sunni Sovereignty Alliance failed to secure the 220 MPs needed to meet the legal quorum.
"The lack of national understandings and the failure of the parliament session to complete the constitutional entitlements is unfortunate and worrying, more than five months after the early elections," Salih said in a statement, adding that the country's failure to elect a president five months after the elections has made the situation "unacceptable."
Saturday's parliamentary session was attended by 202 MPs, according to the legislature's media office, falling short of the two-thirds minimum needed to initiate the vote for Iraq's new president.
The president noted that the decision to hold snap elections "was not a goal in itself, but rather a means of reform, ensuring political and social stability, improving the general situation in the country, and responding to the demands of Iraqis," and was intended to end Iraq's political crisis, as opposed to perpetuating it.
Addressing the political situation, Salih stated that the political forces have a "historic responsibility" to alleviate the current crisis through "patriotism and solidarity," as well as forming a capable government that meets the population's needs and protects the country's sovereignty and interests.
Salih concluded by urging all political parties to participate in dialogue and deal with the crisis accordingly, by prioritizing Iraqis and considering regional and international challenges as well as the "dangerous" economic conditions.
The statement from Salih comes as he is the primary candidate of the Coordination Framework-led alliance, with the race for Iraq’s next presidential post being largely contested by the incumbent and KDP’s Reber Ahmed, the tripartite alliance’s pick.
Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi on Saturday urged on the continuation of sessions until the legal quorum to elect the next president is reached.
"The failure to achieve the required quorum requires us to continue holding sessions until a quorum is achieved to elect the president," he said.
The Coordination Framework, a pro-Iran Shiite parliamentary alliance, boycotted Saturday's session along with MPs from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), the Kurdistan Justice Party (KJP), and various independent MPs.
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law Coalition, a key component of the Coordination Framework, presented 126 signatures to the presidency of the parliament from MPs that had decided to boycott the meeting, as per their media outlets.
Iraq held early elections on October 10. The vote was called in response to mass protests in the country beginning in October 2019, caused by widespread dissatisfaction with Iraq's politicians and endemic corruption in the country.
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