The Iraqi Parliament in Baghdad. (Credit: AFP/File photo)
Iraq's parliament will meet Thursday to "elect the president," Speaker Mohammed al-Halbussi's office announced Tuesday, in a surprise move seen at trying to end months of political impasse.
The oil-rich but troubled country has already made three failed attempts to elect a new head of state this year.
More than a year after the last general election, Halbussi's office said that the parliamentary session later this week wil have "a single item on the agenda: the election of the President of the Republic."
Iraqis last voted on Oct. 10, 2021 in a general election brought forward by a wave of mass protests against endemic corruption, rampant unemployment and decaying infrastructure.
Ahead of Halbussi's announcement, the United Nations mission urged political factions to end the deadlock, warning that "Iraq is running out of time."
The country has yet to form a new government after last year's election, leaving caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi at the helm.
Rival Shiite factions in Parliament have been vying for influence and the right to select a new premier and government. Both sides have set up protest camps and, at times, the standoff has sparked deadly street clashes in Baghdad.
'Stifling crisis'
On Aug. 30, current President Barham Saleh urged "new, early elections in accordance with a national consensus ... [to provide] an exit from the stifling crisis."
The largely honorific post of Iraqi president is traditionally reserved for a Kurd. The post generally goes to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), while the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Kurdistan (KDP) maintains control over affairs of autonomous Kurdistan in northern Iraq.
But the KDP is also eyeing the presidency and will present its own candidate on Thursday.
There are currently two obvious candidates: the PUK's Saleh, the incumbent, and current Kurdistan Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed, of the KDP.
Once parliament elects a new president, the elected official must then designate a prime minister, who is chosen by the largest coalition in Parliament.
This has been the focus of deadlock between the two main Shiite factions on Iraq's political scene. On the one hand is the fiery cleric Moqtada Sadr, who wants Parliament dissolved and new elections to be held. On the other is the Coordination Framework, an alliance of pro-Iran Shiite factions, including former paramilitaries, that want a new government before elections are held.
Tensions boiled over on Aug. 29 when more than 30 Sadr supporters were killed in clashes with Iran-backed factions and the army in Baghdad's Green Zone, the capital's fortified government and diplomatic district.
Iraq has raked in huge revenues from energy exports this year, and the central bank is holding a colossal $87 billion in foreign exchange reserves. However, the money remains locked up because Kadhemi is not authorized to submit an annual state budget to Parliament in his capacity as caretaker prime minister.
The UN mission said it is "imperative" that a budget is adopted before the end of the year.