Iraqi Speaker Mohammed Al Halbousi to submit resignation amid deadlock

His political party made significant gains in last year's election

Mohammed Al Halbousi at the Iraqi Parliament in Baghdad in February. Reuters

Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al Halbousi will submit his resignation on Wednesday, the legislative body's agenda shows.

It comes after nearly a year of political deadlock that followed a bitterly disputed election result and mounting violence.

The agenda, published by Parliament's media office, says politicians will vote on Mr Al Halbousi’s resignation.

Analysts and Iraqi politicians say the move may actually serve as a vote of confidence, if Parliament votes that he must remain in the position.

At 41, he is one of the youngest leaders on Iraq's fragmented political scene. Mr Al Halbousi's Taqqadum party made significant gains in last October's election and his alliance with cleric and political leader Moqtada Al Sadr would have put him in a strong position in talks on forming a government.

But the process has repeatedly stalled after a coalition of mainly Iran-linked parties, the Co-ordination Framework, mounted legal challenges against Mr Al Sadr, whose coalition won significantly more seats than them.

Mr Al Sadr has since withdrawn his MPs from government formation in an act of protest, leaving Mr Al Halbousi and the Kurdish Democratic Party — which was also aligned to Mr Al Sadr — to find new allies.

The session will be the first after a weeks-long hiatus, but the reason for Mr Al Halbousi's resignation is unclear.

Sunni politician Mishaan Al Jabouri said the vote on the resignation would actually serve to reaffirm confidence Mr Al Halbousi, which he gained in January when the Sadrists were key to his re-election as Speaker.

Farhad Alaaldin, an analyst who runs the Iraqi Advisory Council, said: “That’s a smart move on the chess board of Iraqi politics.” He added that Mr Al Halbousi wanted to renew his term and prevent any future attempt to remove him.

In related developments, the Co-ordination Framework is reportedly planning a coalition with Kurds and Sunnis that could not only expedite the government formation process, but also provoke Mr Al Sadr. He has warned the Co-ordination Framework that government formation cannot go ahead unless parliament is dissolved.

The announcement was planned for Sunday, but was postponed.