Chaos mars opening session of a new parliament in Iraq

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s new parliament reelected its speaker for a second term Sunday, the first step toward forming a new government after a general election whose results have been contested by powerful Iranbacked factions.

The meeting was marked by disarray, with the eldest member of Parliament who was leading the session being taken to a hospital..

The meeting ushers in what is likely to be a lengthy period of political wrangling among rival groups to choose a new president and prime minister. As leader of the biggest bloc, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr — a maverick leader remembered for leading an insurgency against U.S. forces after the 2003 invasion — has the upper hand in forming a new government.

But he will have to manage tensions with rival Shiite groups who continue to reject the election results and are demanding to have a say in the government formation process.

According to the Iraq Constitution, the largest bloc in Parliament has the right to choose the new prime minister.

But as the meeting got underway Sunday, a coalition known as the Shiite Coordination Framework, an alliance of Shiite factions that object to the vote results, submitted a list of lawmakers’ names it claimed now hold the biggest parliamentary bloc with 88 seats.

Chaos erupted briefly in the chamber, during which lawmakers crowded around Mahmood al-Mashhadani, who was leading the session.

Within minutes, the 73-year-old lawmaker was carried out of the room by security forces and placed in an ambulance that took

Lawmakers loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr arrive at a new parliament session Sunday in Baghdad. Al-Sadr is one of Iraq’s most influential political leaders.

him to a hospital, where he was visited by some of the heads of political and militia factions. The lawmaker appeared to be in good condition, according to witnesses who later saw him there.

Following the disruption, the session resumed, although the issue of the majority was not resolved.

Later, 200 lawmakers picked incumbent Parliament Speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi for a second term, while 14 voted for al-Mashhadani.

Al-Halbousi, whose Sunni party came in second with 37 seats, is the former governor of Anbar province and was supported by al-Sadr, Kurdish and Sunni groups.

Earlier Sunday, lawmakers from al-Sadr’s bloc arrived early to Parliament in Baghdad, donning white shrouds Muslims use to wrap their dead in a sign of their willingness to die for him. Al-Sadr, one of Iraq’s most influential political leaders, was the biggest winner in the Oct. 10 vote, securing 73 out of Parliament’s 329 seats.

Pro-Iran factions that alleged voter fraud lost around two-thirds of their seats.

Supporters of armed groups pitched tents and

staged a sit-in around the capital’s Green Zone, which houses the Iraqi government and many foreign diplomatic missions, for more than two months, while they appealed to Iraq’s top court.

The court rejected the appeal and ratified the election results last month, clearing the way for a government to be formed.

After choosing a parliamentary speaker, lawmakers also are expected to elect two deputies. Parliament will then have to elect a new president, who will have 15 days to appoint a prime minister nominated by the largest bloc to form a new government.

Under an unofficial agreement dating back to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, Iraq’s presidency — a largely ceremonial role — is held by a Kurd, while the prime minister is Shiite and the parliament speaker is Sunni.

The election was held months ahead of schedule in response to mass protests in late 2019.

“With many independents and new political parties elected like Imtidad Movement, we could see a true opposition formed in Parliament for the first time,” said Hamzeh Hadad, a political analyst.