ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The oldest member of the Kurdistan Parliament said on Wednesday he would not continue as the interim speaker of the legislature after he failed to convene the number of lawmakers needed to hold a session to elect a new leadership for the parliament. The first session of the sixth parliamentary term was held on December 2, presided over by Mohammed Sulaiman of the opposition New Generation Movement (NGM) as the oldest lawmaker. He had called on factions to attend Wednesday’s session to elect a speaker but stepped down after the session failed to meet legal quorum.. "Unfortunately, the legal quorum for Wednesday's session was not met,” NGM lawmaker Kurdawan Jamal told reporters. On Saturday, NGM leader Shaswar Abdulwahid said the party would remain in opposition unless granted real power in government. He also warned that Sulaiman would resign if lawmakers failed to convene. “My goal was to serve. I cannot stay in a post if I do not serve the people; I will resign,” Sulaiman said at a press conference. “For two years, parliament has been without a speaker. We wanted to elect one today, but the legal quorum was not met,” he added. The Kurdistan Region held its long-overdue parliamentary elections on October 20. The ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) secured 39 seats, followed by its government ally and political rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), with 23 seats. New Generation came in third with 15 seats. With no party winning a majority, a governing coalition must be formed, but negotiations have been slow to gain momentum.
