Iraqi First Deputy Speaker, From Sadr Bloc, Resigns Amid Queries
The unexpected resignation of Iraqi parliamentary first deputy speaker Qusay al-Suhail has raised questions on all sides of the Iraqi political spectrum.
![Former Iraqi premier Allawi holds a joint news conference with al Suhail, a top figure of the al-Sadr block in Baghdad Former Iraqi premier and head of the secular Iraqiya coalition, Iyad Allawi (R) holds a joint news conference with Qusay al Suhail, a top figure of the al-Sadr block (L) in Baghdad, August 17, 2010. Allawi said on Tuesday his Sunni-backed Iraqiya alliance would intensify talks with an anti-American Shi'ite movement to try to break a political stalemate. Iraq has been in a political deadlock since a March 7 election which produced no outright winner, raising tensions ahead of an end to U.S. combat operations](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2013/06/1-RTR2HD4B.jpg/1-RTR2HD4B.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=k0bqgh8v)
On June, 24 2013, Qusay al-Suhail, first deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament and a leading member of the al-Sadr bloc, also known as the Liberal bloc, resigned without providing any reasons. Suhail’s decision was attributed to his relationship with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and the rage of his leader, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, over Maliki’s role in prohibiting the questioning of a minister in the State of Law Coalition.
An informed political source told Al-Monitor that "Suhail was dismissed and did not resign. He was instructed by Sadr to leave office after the exposure of his role in obstructing the questioning of Minister of Higher Education Ali al-Adeeb, a Shiite leader close to Maliki."