With prime minister out, Iraq in ‘constitutional black hole’
Question of which coalition is the largest bloc still unresolved
Iraq’s parliament on Sunday formally accepted the prime minister’s resignation, but the path to replacing Adel Abdul Mahdi was clouded with legal questions that one lawmaker described as a “black hole in the constitution”, which does not clearly spell out the next step.
Meanwhile, anti-government demonstrations went on in the capital, and one protester was shot dead. Demonstrators closed roads, including those leading to a major commodities port in southern Iraq. A special judicial committee was formed to investigate demonstrator deaths.
Parliament approved the resignation without a vote, according to four lawmakers in attendance. Lawmakers acted on the legal opinion of the federal supreme court because existing laws do not provide clear procedures.
“According to the federal court’s interpretation, there is no need to vote,” lawmaker Sarkwat Shams Al Deen said during the session. Lawmaker Mohammad Al Daraji made the reference to a black hole in the law.
Following the approval, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Al Halbousi asked President Barham Saleh to nominate a new prime minister. The constitution requires parliament’s largest bloc to name a candidate for the premiership within 15 days. Then the prime minister-designate has 30 days to form a government. Officials and experts warned of a potential political crisis because the question of which coalition constitutes the largest bloc is unresolved.
Provisional alliance
Abdul Mahdi’s nomination as prime minister was the product of a provisional alliance between parliament’s two main blocs — Sairoon, led by cleric Moqtada Al Sadr, and Fatah, which includes leaders associated with the paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Units headed by Hadi Al Amiri.
The possibility of Sairoon and Fatah re-committing to an alliance over the selection of the premiership was “the strongest scenario”, Al Deen said.
In Baghdad’s historic Rasheed Street, security forces fired live ammunition to prevent crowds from breaching concrete barriers near the Ahrar bridge that leads to parliament and other government buildings. One protester was killed and 10 wounded.
At least 420 people have been killed since October 1, when thousands took to the streets in mass protests in Baghdad and the predominantly Shiite south.