All Members of Iraqi National Coalition to Attend 1st Session of New Parliament: MP

All Members of Iraqi National Coalition to Attend 1st Session of New Parliament: MP

June 29, 2014 - 17:52

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Iraqi lawmaker announced that all of the members of the National Coalition would attend the first session of the country’s newly elected parliament, which will be held on July 1.

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The Iraqi National Coalition will choose the next prime minister of Iraq by Tuesday, Abdul Hussein Al-Mousawi, a member of the Fazilat party, was quoted by Alsumaria news channel as saying.

He also emphasized that the Fazilat party supports the election of the prime minister and the establishment of the cabinet, either through voting or reaching agreement among the members of the coalition.

All of the members of the Iraqi National Coalition will be present at the first session of the parliament, Mousawi stated.

Meanwhile, Iraq's National Coalition, which holds most of the seats in parliament, is set to announce its candidates for the premiership post to form a new government.

A spokesman for the Coalition said on Sunday that incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, former prime minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, former vice president Adel Abdul Mahdi, as well as the current security adviser Faleh al-Fayad are among the possible candidates.

This is while leader of the Iraqi national congress Ahmad al-Chalabi and a senior member of Maliki’s party al-Daawa, Tarq Najem, are the other candidates.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who commands unswerving loyalty from many Shiites in Iraq and beyond, has already said political blocs should agree on the next premier, parliament speaker and president before a newly elected legislature meets on Tuesday.

The first session of Iraq’s newly elected parliament will be heldon Tuesday as the country’s armed forces step up military operations against ISIL militants.

Tuesday’s convening of the new parliament comes as part of efforts to start the process of creating a new government. This comes against the backdrop of mounting ISIL insurgency in the country’s restive north.

The Iraqi armed forces have stepped up military operations against the militants from the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Levant to liberate insurgent-held cities.

The ISIL militants took control of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh Province, on June 10. They later took control of the city of Tikrit, located about 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

Iraq has been witnessing a new wave of violence fueled by the ISIL Takfiri terrorists. The militants have been operating in the Iraqi provinces of Nineveh, Diyala, Salahuddin and al-Anbar.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said that the country’s security forces would confront the terrorists, calling the seizure of Mosul a “conspiracy.” The Iraqi prime minister has also blamed Saudi Arabia and Qatar for the security crisis and growing terrorism in his country, denouncing Riyadh as a major supporter of global terrorism.