Iraqi Parliament Speaker Re-Resigns

Parliament Returns to Session

by Jason Ditz, December 23, 2008

For the second time in less than a week, Iraq’s Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani has announced his official resignation from his position. Assuming this resignation lasts longer than the previous one, Iraq’s parliament, which Mashhadani previously suspended until January 7, will hold a session tomorrow to select his replacement.

Last Wednesday, Mashhadani loudly announced his resignation after a heated dispute over journalist Muntadar al-Zeidi’s jailing. At the time Mashhadani’s office said it wasn’t sure if that resignation “was sincere of just an expression of the speaker’s exasperation at the situation,” and he quietly returned to his position soon after. Still, the damage was done and Mashhadani was under renewed pressure to resign, only for real this time.

The latest resignation reopens the possibility of a vote on the status of non-US forces. The previous vote lost in the wake of Mashhadani’s first resignation, but the government plans to reintroduce the terms as a “parliamentary resolution” to avoid the need for a two-thirds majority.

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