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| Pres Salah, Speaker Halbusi, PM Designate Mahdi (Al Masalah) |
October 2, 2018 Iraq took a big step towards forming a new government five months after elections. First, Barham Salah, who recently rejoined the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) was elected the country’s new president. He immediately named Adel Abdul Mahdi as his pick to be the next prime minister. This is the first time since 2005 a Dawa member will not be holding the top office. Mahdi was selected by Moqtada al-Sadr and had the backing of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Mahdi now has 30 days to form a cabinet. The selection of these two candidates broke rules and precedent.
The election of Salah reflected the divisions within the
Kurdish bloc. Since 2005 the presidency has not only been a Kurd but come from
the PUK. That party has been facing internal divisions since the death of its
founder former President Jalal Talabani. That led the Kurdistan Democratic
Party (KDP) to make its own nomination for the office Fuad Hussein.
The KDP attempted to make a deal with the PUK, including a last
minute meeting on October 2, but failed to find consensus. That led Massoud
Barzani to criticize
the vote saying it didn’t follow norms of the president coming from the Kurdish
bloc. The two parties have been moving apart since the September 2017
independence referendum and the federal government’s move back into the
disputed territories. The two maintain a political alliance, but it’s obvious
that it has its limits.
More importantly the nomination of Mahdi violated the rules
of how a government is to be formed. After an election, the winning parties are
to form the largest bloc and have the right to name the next prime minister to
form a new administration. This year the Shiite parties are
split between one led by Moqtada al-Sadr and the other by Hadi Amiri. Each
has brought other parties and individual parliamentarians into two major blocs
and claim that they are the biggest. This has not been resolved, but the two
agreed to back Mahdi. Sadr even sent out a message that “Iraq
is bigger than the largest bloc.” Iraq is known for having weak rule of
law, but this was taking it to a new level. Just as important Mahdi is an
independent, and if he doesn’t have an alliance standing behind him his job
will be extra difficult as he has no base. Will he be at the whim of two
competing parties? Will he be able to play one off the other? What happens if
there is a political crisis or Mahdi is removed or steps down, where will the
next premier come from? Perhaps Sadr and Amiri will eventually come together
and this will all take care of itself, but it shows that they are taking political
expediency over following the rules, which shows that the elite can manipulate
the system when they want.
SOURCES
Iraq Oil Report, “Adil Abd al-Mahdi, ex-oil minister, tapped as Iraq
prime minister,” Iraq Oil Report, 10/3/18
Al Mada, “Barham Salah elected president of the Republic … A new deal
passed in Parliament two weeks after deal for the presidency of Parliament,”
10/2/18
- “Written agreements between the reform and construction coalition
determine the president of the republic and ministers,” 9/26/18
Al Mirbad, “The meeting of the Kurdistan Democratic Union and the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan ends without reaching a final agreement,” 10/2/18
- “The reform alliance loses the largest bloc after temptations
splintered the list,” 9/22/18
- “Sadr and Sistani’s son agree to nominate Abdul Mahdi to head the
government,” 9/18/18
- “Sadr: Iraq is bigger than the largest bloc,” 10/2/18
NRT, “Barzani Expresses Opposition To Process Of Electing New Iraqi
President,” 10/2/18
Rasheed, Ahmed, Jalabi, Raya, “Iraq names new president and premier,
ending deadlock,” Reuters, 10/2/18
Rudaw, “KDP nominates Fuad Hussein for Iraqi president,” 9/23/18
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