ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Temporary speaker of the Kurdistan Region Parliament Mohammed Sulaiman on Wednesday resigned from the post after today’s session failed to meet a legal quorum to elect the Presidency of the Parliament.
“Only 26 MPs showed up. With 26 MPs, a quorum cannot be met. It looks as if we have done nothing. I am not ready to stay in the post where I cannot serve. Therefore, in front of all of you, I am resigning,” Sulaiman said in a press conference.
The Kurdistan Region’s newly-elected members of parliament were sworn in early December, officially commencing their legislative duties. By law, the lawmakers were supposed to elect a speaker during the first session, but the vote was not carried out due to failure to reach the legal quorum.
Sulaiman, the oldest parliamentarian who chaired the first session of the parliament, added: “We wanted to elect the Presidency of the Parliament for the committees to begin their tasks and serve the people. But as you see, no one [MPs] is ready to elect the Presidency [of the Parliament].”
Now that Sulaiman from the New Generation block has resigned, Azad Hama Ameen, the second oldest lawmaker from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), will assume the post of speaker, according to the Kurdistan Region Parliament’s guidelines.
After a two-year delay, and months of wrangling, the Kurdistan Region held its parliamentary elections on October 20.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) emerged as the first and second largest parties from the October polls, gaining 39 and 23 seats, respectively.
The two parties appear poised to form the government, as they are intensely engaged in government formation talks. Most of the other parties have already declared their opposition.
The KDP and PUK could realistically form the next cabinet without the inclusion of any other parties as they make up more than half of the legislature. Combined with the five minority quota seats, the winners of which are already believed to be affiliated with either of the two parties, the KDP and the PUK would have 67 lawmakers on their side, allowing them to pass or deny any legislation in the parliament with a two-thirds majority.
Both parties, and the New Generation Movement, have submitted candidates for the post of parliament speaker.
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