Since the judiciary’s exclusion of Mr. Muhammad Al-Halbousi from the presidency and membership of the House of Representatives, political and media circles have circulated many names expected to reach the presidency of Parliament, and the name of Mr. Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani is at the forefront. This fame and importance is not due to his being a former competitor to Al-Halbousi for the presidency at the beginning of the current parliamentary session only, nor Because of the circumstances of the first session of Parliament, of which Al-Mashhadani was the champion, but mainly because Al-Mashhadani has an important history in the Iraqi Parliament and also because he has a distinguished appearance in the media and a different political presence that he designed himself.
Al-Mashhadani held the presidency of Parliament in its first session (2006-2008) at a critical stage in Iraq’s history. It could even be said that it was the most critical stage, especially for the Sunnis who were out of power for the first time in their history, a transformation that some members of the honorable sect who did not believe in it. They realized the possibility of other components coming to power in Iraq and with the occupation authorities interfering in all aspects of the state, so they rejected this transformation violently sometimes and with boycott at other times to the point of prohibition, as Harith Al-Dari and those who followed him did at the time.
At that time, Parliament was the arena of political confrontation between the Iraqi components (Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, Turkmen, Christians, and others), and because I was a member of the session headed by Al-Mashhadani, I constantly review that stage, the details of which I recorded in a manuscript book (Four Years of My Representation 2006). -2010), and I find that Al-Mashhadani was subjected to great pressure and difficult circumstances, especially with the outbreak of sectarian fighting after the bombing of the shrines of the two military imams, peace be upon them, in Samarra in 2006, and with all the atmosphere of tension and pressure, it was natural for things to sometimes go wrong in the parliament hall and for unexpected words and positions to be issued. From Al-Mashhadani, and I sometimes ask myself, with the eye of a university professor new to politics, about the energy that Al-Mashhadani had to confront those circumstances and pressures. He is a doctor who is also new to political work and accustomed to words of reassurance to patients and their families. I also wonder about the greater harm that could have befallen Iraq at that stage had it not been for it. The presence of strong and influential figures such as the late Abdulaziz Al-Hakim, Mr. Nouri Al-Maliki, the Prime Minister at the time, and Dr. Fouad Masum, Hadi Al-Amiri, Sheikh Hammam Hamoudi, Saadi Al-Barzanji, Ibrahim Al-Jaafari, Iyad Allawi, and the late Adnan Al-Dulaimi and Adnan Al-Bajji.
Parliament was a major surgical theater filled with pandemonium, and Al-Mashhadani was required to perform precise operations that everyone would be satisfied with, which was impossible in particular in those circumstances in which everyone was exerting pressure and holding him responsible for everything, until the matter eventually led to Al-Mashhadani’s resignation after several severe crises in which he was a party. In some of them.
Since his departure from Parliament, Al-Mashhadani has worked to reposition himself in the political process and presented a different performance that made him the focus of attention of political forces, observers and the media. He won elections several times, as during the past 14 years he followed the path of moderation and did not skimp on advice, frankness and revealing the truth, and presented an attractive political speech in which he demonstrated his love for Iraq. And the Iraqis have an audience from all components waiting for his words and opinions, which qualifies him today to assume the presidency of Parliament for the next two years. Let us watch him implement his promises and pledges, turn his words into actions, bring the views of Iraqis closer together, help the oppressed, and work side by side with the Prime Minister to legislate overdue laws and spare Iraq from further crises so that it can enjoy. His children with his many blessings, justice and security.