ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq's National Political Council, composed of the country's Sunni parliamentary blocs, on Sunday announced the nomination of the Taqadum Party's Haibat al-Halbousi as the Sunnis' candidate for Iraq's Speaker of Parliament, coming ahead of the first session of the legislature's newly elected term scheduled for Monday.

Halbousi's candidacy came after several meetings between Iraq's Sunni blocs, which saw the National Political Council members hash out their differences, most saliently those between Mohammed al-Halbousi's Taqadum party and Muthanna al-Samarrai's Azm Alliance, who each reportedly insisted that their own candidates assume the position.

"After negotiations and discussions, and after considering a number of names, we agreed on this name, which represents us all in this term," the Council said in a press conference after a meeting on Sunday night, which was notably not attended by Samarrai, according to The New Region's Baghdad correspondent.

Shortly after the announcement, the Azm Alliance announced that it refuses to agree with the Council components regarding Halbousi's candidacy, insisting that Muthanna al-Samarrai remains its sole nominee.

The Alliance's Haider al-Mulla told The New Region that "what the National Political Council decides is up to its leadership, but we will be present tomorrow, and the parliamentary session will decide," asserting that "our relationship is with the [Shiite Coordination] Framework and the Kurdish forces, and Samarrai will not withdraw his nomination."

On top of not attending the National Political Council's presser, Samarrai also left the Sunni amalgam's Sunday meeting early, according to The New Region's correspondent.

The Iraqi parliament is set to convene on Monday for the new term's first meeting. The parliament's media office announced Saturday the agenda for the session, which included the selection of the speaker and their two deputies.

Within 30 days of the first session, the parliament must also elect a president for the country, who is reserved for Kurds, who would in turn name a prime minister-designate, selected by the largest parliamentary bloc, and task them with the formation of the Council of Ministers within fifteen days. The prime minister-designate would need to be replaced by the president if the cabinet fails to be formed in a timely manner.

The speakership candidate previously served as the head of the Parliament's Oil and Energy Committee in the 2018-2022 parliamentary term.

Baghdad has often failed to honor the constitutional frameworks, as disagreements between rivaling blocs hinder the process, resulting in long delays and, at times, unrest in the country.

Updated at 23:01 with Haider al-Mulla's remarks