BAGHDAD — Iraq’s parliament will meet Wednesday to elect a new president, a crucial step toward naming a new prime minister and government, but questions are growing about whether anyone can save the country after the collapse of its army and the loss of as much as half its territory to the radical Islamic State.
In a sign of the erosion of political order, 100 people are competing in Wednesday’s vote – for a post whose occupant in past years was determined in advance by power brokers.
“Tomorrow’s vote will be devoid of any political deals,” Salim al Jubouri, the speaker of the parliament, a Sunni Muslim, said Tuesday.
The most prominent candidate is Barham Salih, a former prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government who is highly critical of the current prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki.
By tradition, the speaker of parliament should be a Sunni, the prime minister a Shiite and the successor to the outgoing president, Jalal Talabani, should be a Kurd from his Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party.
But the Kurds have announced a referendum on independence and are halfway out the door.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.