Abadi says to attend parliament session Monday as premier, election winner

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Sunday that he will attend the first parliamentary session scheduled on Monday morning as a premier and election winner after his alliance came third in the general elections, held in May.

Dijlah TV channel quoted Abadi as telling reporters that “the Victory alliance will be present at the parliament tomorrow, Monday. And I will be also there as a prime minister and a winner in the elections.”

Abadi said, however, that he will not take oath at the parliament tomorrow because that will prevent him from assuming his executive tasks as a prime minister.

Abadi has been serving as a prime minister of Iraq since September 2014.

In the May 12 parliamentary polls, Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr’s Sairoon coalition won 54 parliamentary seats, followed by an al-Hashd al-Shaabi-linked coalition (47 seats) and Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi’s Victory bloc (42 seats).

The vote results, however, have aroused widespread fraud allegations.

Last week, Iraqi President Fuad Masum issued a decree, ordering the newly-elected parliament to convene Monday under the oldest lawmaker, a move which precedes the election of the new president and formation of the new cabinet.

Under the Iraqi constitution, 15 days after final election results are endorsed by the Federal Supreme Court, the new parliament must hold its first session during which the speaker will be chosen.

A new president will be elected within three days of the legislature convening and the president will then ask the largest parliamentary bloc to form a cabinet.

Iraq’s president is elected by the parliament by a two-thirds majority and is limited to two four-year terms

The speaker of the Iraqi parliament should be a Sunni Arab, the prime minister a Shiite, and the president a Kurd.