BAGHDAD — The Iraqi parliament plunged into a fresh crisis Saturday, just a day before it was scheduled to reconvene, when members of the main Sunni Arab coalition fell into infighting over choosing a parliament speaker.
The fighting centers on replacing Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a prominent Sunni Arab politician who was forced to resign as speaker Dec. 23 after months of complaints by the main Kurdish and Shiite blocs in parliament. The blocs said they were upset about his overall performance and his frequent lashing out from the podium.
According to political agreements, his successor must be a Sunni Arab, as part of a codified effort to help Iraq’s Sunni minority feel it has a voice in government. But disagreements over the choice led to more walkouts from the main Sunni political coalition, Tawafiq, on Saturday, weakening the bloc before crucial provincial elections scheduled for the end of January. The dispute might also keep parliament from passing any legislation until a speaker is chosen and confirmed.
This leaves Tawafiq, which was already beset by infighting and other defections, with about 25 members in parliament, of whom about 22 are from the Iraqi Islamic Party. The bloc started with 44 members in 2006. There are a total of 69 Sunni Arabs in the 275-member parliament. The New York Times
