Shafaq News / The Takaddom Alliance, led by Mohammed al-Halbousi, attacked Khamis al-Khanjar, head of al-Siyada Alliance, accusing him of conspiring against the party in exchange for some gains, causing the loss of the Baghdad Provincial Council Presidency’s position.
During the inaugural session held on Monday, Baghdad’s Provincial Council elected Ammar Hussein al-Qaisi from al-Azm Alliance as the Council president, and Abdul Muttalib al-Alawi from the State of Law Coalition as the governor.
The Takaddom Alliance has aimed to preside over Baghdad’s Provincial Council, However, the Shiite parties quickly formed the Coordination Framework bloc to engage in political negotiations and distribute seats and positions in local governments.
On Sunday, al-Siyada, al-Azm, and al-Hasim Al-Watani alliances agreed to form the Baghdad bloc within Baghdad’s Provincial Council, excluding the Takaddom Alliance led by former Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi.
In this context, a member of the Takaddom Alliance, Khattab al-Tamimi, told Shafaq News agency, "Takaddom Alliance has been subjected to a major attack, where it was robbed of its right in three governments, namely, Baghdad, Saladin, and Diyala."
Al-Tamimi added, "Those who conspired against Takaddom in Baghdad are Khamis al-Khanjar, and the position was lost in exchange for some concessions, as he has business partnerships and investments with some Shiite parties."
He elaborated, "Al-Khanjar forfeited the position of the presidency of the Baghdad Provincial Council, and he has no covenant or promise. He is primarily a broker and a smuggler, not a politician, and he does not care about the Sunni component."
Al-Tamimi continued, "Khamis al-Khanjar forfeited about 17 seats in Baghdad to obtain some concessions, deals, and investments for his companies at the expense of the Sunni component."
According to al-Tamimi, the Coordination Framework "breached the agreement with the Takaddom Alliance, and just as the Framework betrayed Takaddom and usurped the rights of the Sunni component, and went to a businessman-smuggler to consider him a representative of the Sunni component, Takaddom has its true positions and alliances in the upcoming phase, as it is not to be underestimated as it has 45 seats in the Parliament and retains the right to respond."
The new governors under scrutiny
On the other hand, independent politician Ibrahim al-Dulaimi asserted that "the winners in the elections who formed their local governments must provide the services that the people and their governorates aspire to, otherwise the political process will be on the brink of collapse, as the people will protest to demand their rights."
Al-Dulaimi added, "Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani has prepared a surprise for the new governors, as he suspended the budget for several months, knowing that most of them will work for his bloc to prepare for the upcoming elections, so he will not release it to them except after taking commitments from them and subjecting them to evaluation every three months, and incompetent governors will face replacement."
The provincial councils in Iraq serve as the legislative and oversight authority in each governorate. These elected councils have the right to enact local legislation, enabling them to manage their affairs according to the principle of administrative decentralization, without conflicting with the constitution and federal laws falling under the exclusive jurisdiction of the authorities.